a blooming flower
by asobi seksu
Summary: Yukimura Shizuko represents the famed Rikkaidai tennis team for two reasons: 1. Her brother is Yukimura Seichii, aka The Child of God. 2. She's the manager of the team! She thinks her position is for the better, until a girl-Tachibana An-transfers to Rikkaidai and attracts the attention of the entire team. And to make it worse, she didn't expect to like a total blockhead...
1. resignation

**author's note**: The usage of Seichi-nii belongs to Neon Genesis, by the way. GO READ SIX FEET UNDER THE STARS RITE NAO. So this idea was originally **GlaciaLeafia**'s. It's stated that Yukimura has a younger sister, but as we don't know what her name is or how old she is, I apply artistic license.

**summary**: Yukimura Shizuko represents the famed Rikkaidai tennis team for two reasons: 1. Her brother is Yukimura Seichii, aka The Child of God. 2. She's the manager of the team! She thinks her position is for the better, until a girl--Tachibana An--transfers to Rikkaidai and attracts the attention of the entire team. And to make it worse, she didn't expect to like someone... a certain _someone_ who could make life a veritable hell...

* * *

**a blooming flower**

ch. 1 - resignation

-

**OUT**of all the tennis regulars, I thought I would have said Seichii would have been my favorite.

Then I realized after he was defeated, maybe he wasn't the only one.

-

Sanada Genichirou lives a block-and-a-half-away. He's been my brother's best friend--and also his biggest rival--since we moved in Kanagawa. To him, and most everybody, I still represent someone related to Yukimura Seichii, a person the Child of God would do anything to protect. So I'm just there, not really like the Shizuko that my Mom wanted me to be like. I'm just Seichi-nii's little sister.

But Sanada's extraordinarily polite around women, even if he's extraordinarily strict towards his teammates. He too gets up early, and I pedal a little faster to catch up to him.

"Ohayou, Sanada-san," I said, kicking the brake and hopping off my bike. I pulled out a bag from my knapsack. "Seichii-nii wanted to return this to you."

"Ohayou, Shizuko-san," he replies. "I don't remember Buchou borrowing anything from me." Which is rude for Sanada, because one, he's asserting that my brother didn't honor him with the privilege to borrow something from him, and two, he's shielding Seichii from responsibility in the case that my brother actually would lose something that belonged to someone else.

"Just take it, okay?" I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. "I'm just making a delivery for Seichii-nii."

He reluctantly takes it, and I get back on my bike. "Want to catch a ride?"

"No thank you," he says, his eyes very serious and solemn. "I believe it would a burden on you physically."

This isn't the first time I've wanted to kick him in the balls--his family always had a streak of sexism, them being traditionalists and all--but I take after my brother's side in tact, so I shut up like the good Yukimura that I'm supposed to be.

"All right, Sanada-san. I'll see you at practice, then."

Ha. Practice. He's a freak on the courts--which is really saying something, considering that everyone on the team are freaks. There's Niou, with his creepy tricks and Yagyuu that compliment their doubles play. Yanagi-senpai, one of the Three Demons of Rikkaidai. Jackal and Marui, who are definitely artistic on the court. Kirihara and his Devil Mode.

And finally, Seichii-nii: kind, talented, bright, and a Child of God. One of the most powerful players in Japan, including the professional players.

I steer my bike near the racks and make sure that my lock is secure before I head off to the shoe lockers--but even before I can do that, I'm stopped by Niou, who casually waves to me.

"Yo, Shizuko-chan."

Niou is one of those people that you can't find when he doesn't want you to find him. He's unusually good-looking, mysterious, and plays the resident bad boy role exceptionally well, leading to drones of girls pining away for his affection. They haven't gotten very far, I've heard.

"Hey. What are you doing over here?" I ask, scanning his face.

"There's no law against greeting my second-favorite kouhai, right?" he says lazily, and I scowl. I think I hate being inferior to Kirihara.

I don't have time for that, so I start snapping the lock on my bike and head over to my locker. Unfortunately, Niou followed me, which in return won me about a million glares from a million people.

"Can you please stop following me?" I hissed. "I swear, you are _totally_ doing this on purpose."

"There's no law against checking a hot girl out," he reasoned out, which would have been flattering if the people who glared at me thought the same as well.

"Last time I heard, there was a law against checking out Yukimura Seichii's younger _sister,_" I snapped, and shut the door of my shoe locker harder than was necessary. "What did you want to tell me, Niou?"

"Ooh, feisty. I just wanted to say that, supposing if you ever want to try out for the girls' team, I might seriously consider dating one of them. You know, as an incentive for not having such a crappy team that represents Rikkaidai."

"And be associated with morons? I'm the freakin' sister of Seichii," I said flatly, as if that was reason enough not to try. "If I let Rikkaidai down, it's not only me that's the big time loser, it's also him that gets a rep for losing."

"Come on, Shizuko, I bet at the rate you're coming you'd be captain in your second year."

What the hell. I can't even beat one of the top alternates, much less a regular on the boys' team (not that I didn't try). The skeptical look on my face does not go unnoticed.

"I'm serious! Look, the only reason why you don't think you're such a great player is because you've got ridiculous standards."

"Anyone would get ridiculous standards if Seichii-nii lived in their house."

Niou shrugs. "I'm just saying. Because like, you're a great manager and all, but if you're going to seriously hide behind us..."--he cleared his throat significantly at this--"...you might miss out on stuff."

"How is being the manager of Japan's number one high school tennis team missing out?" I asked incredulously. "You're the one who's missing out--you've got every girl desperately wishing she could be your number one, and you turn out to be ... " I bite my lip. "Well, I'm just saying."

"I like being mysterious," he said plaintively. "A sexual attraction and an extracurricular activity are two _very_ different things."

-

So it's Sanada and Niou for breakfast, and I get my fill of Kirihara Akaya around noon because he's the sort that forgets his own training schedule. With the help of Yanagi-senpai, I recorded most of the team's training schedule using an electronic notepad. Being the manager means I have to devise all sorts of creative training methods, which is really quite annoying because every time I come up with something _good_, all of them will eventually master it in less than a week.

"Sorry for forgetting it, Yukimura-san," he said apologetically. "Sanada fukubuchou's so cutthroat, y'know?"

I grin appreciatively at this jibe, because it's true. The only person that could possibly be more brutal then Sanada would be Seichii-nii, and even then _he_ didn't have a compulsive need to slap someone whenever they goofed off.

"No problem. That's my job, remember?" I tear off a Post-it note with dates and times and hand it to him. "Winter tournament's coming up; you'd better put in some training on your Sundays, practice or no practice."

"Aw," he said, but shrugged it off easily. "So, I guess I'll see you at practice?"

"Yeah, after I finalize the alternates."

"Finalizing alternates," he scoffed. "I bet Sanada's piling paperwork on you."

Kirihara is a funny person to be around with whenever the Three Demons aren't there. When they're with Kirihara, it only takes a glance to make him shut up.

By the time practice rolls around, I've already taken roll of all the tennis members (which is around fifty) and fire up the speedometer. Then the regulars step into the court, and everything stops. The regular members stop talking, practicing, whatever when they see the team. Even the girls that come to the court early are holding their breaths for a second.

I don't blame them. The sight of the regulars stepping in airplane formation is pretty intimidating. Seichii-nii is obviously the wing leader; confidently striding up to the tennis courts as if he owns them, while the others take their cues from him. He's not talking, but the squadron is listening. They're listening like Yukimura is telling them the secrets of the universe, those funny, clever, precious secrets; the secrets that make them the chosen ones. I'm not the only girl--or guy--looking at them. And they know it.

But I turn away. They are beneath my notice, at least for today. I've got work to do, and for once it doesn't have anything to do with them.

"Ne ne, Shizuko-san!" a couple of girls nudge me. "What does it feel like to be in charge of the team?"

I'm a little annoyed by this because by answering them, I'm going to waste time when I _could_ be checking out the alternates that my brother took the time to write down on my clipboard.

"In charge of eight pumped-up boys on the way to Nationals?" I ask grumpily. "Not easy." This explanation obviously doesn't satisfy their curiosity, but I don't have time to dawdle. I walk to Court D, where they've already set up practice matches.

I find Eishirou Ayumu, an average-looking guy as far as the freaks go. But his tennis style is all rounder, and he plays it very well--exceptional speed, good power, and a killer backhand that would put him on equal footing with Marui and his techniques. Very talented for a first-year. He was often underestimated by opponents for his short stature, which was only another added bonus when he was on the court.

I signal to the ref for a short break.

"Eishirou-san, just a minute."

"No problem," he replied, stretching his arms out. "Just got done with warmups."

"The district prelims are coming up," I informed him. "Rikkaidai's first seed, and 'Mura-buchou wants you to play in Singles 2."

He flashes a smile. "That's great! I've always wanted to play a couple of official matches. Erm, so who's in Singles 1?"

I sigh. "Sanada. He just couldn't take a break. Just between you and me, it was only because of Seichii-nii that you got to play."

He nods understandably. "Give my thanks to him, okay? I got to get back to this match."

It's a beautiful day, so instead of being cooped up in a room I take out a clipboard and plonk myself on the bleachers, reading over the future lists of possible opponents. Not that I was particularly worried, but it was just another cumbersome task that the manager had to do.

I gazed at the courts, watching idly as the regulars were duking it out against each other. The other half belonged to the girls. Compared to the boy's, they were a living joke... Rumors had it that the only reason why the principal hired a coach for the team was because of the reputation of Rikkaidai.

Niou's words came back to me. I wondered if he would make good on his promise if I joined...

Then I wondered if there were any players who transferred to Rikkaidai just for the tennis, and if so, if there were any girls.

The thought of it made my spine tingle.

Of course, it would only take miracle to find eight decent players that could keep their head screwed on in the presence of pretty boys.

I sighed. It would be impossible... High school girls were creatures who naturally melted in the presence of eye candy. It would be unnatural if they didn't. I myself had to actually talk and get to know the boys personally to get over their beauty. In the end, I had a greater respect for hard work more than the color of a person's eyes. Yes, they all had talent. But what mattered most was devotion and practice. They certainly didn't get to Nationals level by being idle all the time.

"Hell-_ooooo_, earth to earth, Zuko-chan!"

I jumped. Marui was standing right next to me and waving a hand across my face. "Did you not hear _buchou_ calling you?"

I blinked twice, and then my mouth opens. "Oh my god--Marui, how much time did I just spend zonking out?"

"Um... ten minutes, I guess? Kirihara thought you'd be done with the alternates already."

I fish for a ballpoint pen. "Uh, yeah. Just give me a minute." I did most of it during lunchbreak. All that was left was some checkmarks and a couple of signatures to make it official, and soon I'm jogging down the stairs beside Marui, who as usual was blowing a magnificent green-apple bubble.

We took the long way around court, which was the path with the girls half. I spotted seven turning their heads at the sight of Marui.

"Aren't you the stud muffin," I commented dryly as more girls turned to look.

He shrugged. "I'd be more worried about you than myself, personally," he said casually. "You're working yourself to death."

"I enjoy it," I said honestly. "And anyways, someone's got to do it."

"That's true... but I wouldn't be complaining if those rings under your eyes weren't getting darker."

He glances over at the girls (some momentarily swoon). "Why don't you play tennis? 'Mura-buchou said you were an excellent player in middle school... "

I'm saved by answering this question when Seichii waves us over. "Shizuko-chan! Over here..."

Seichii-nii smiles one of those angelic smiles. "I'm only borrowing you for a minute. Now, look here, Shizuko-chan."

My brother doesn't beat around the bush. "I want you to find an assistant manager for the tennis team. This week."

"What for?"

"Coffee cups. Buying six pack energy drinks. Converting the clubroom into a mini-office. It's obvious you need help."

"I don't need help," I find myself saying, even though my sensible side agrees with him. "I can manage all by myself."

"Stop being stubborn and listen to yourself for once," he insists. He's smiling, and it looks like a real smile, but I know better. That's one of his I'm-just-barely-not-ripping-your-head-off smile.

"You're going to find one, or I'm going to elect the next kid that transfers to Rikkaidai."

"You wouldn't," I said, daring him.

How very wrong I was. After all, Yukimura Seichii wasn't the Child of God for nothing.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1 notes**:

This is the part where Tachibana An comes in.

Shizuko is a workaholic. Probably forty percent of her brain is dedicated to managing the team's affairs. I have to say it's probably no small joke to be in charge of the Rikkaidai team.

Concrit would be appreciated and reviews would be -love-.


	2. street tennis

**author's note**: I never get past 10 chapters. Let's hope this time I have enough motivation to make it that far. :D

**summary**: Yukimura Shizuko represents the famed Rikkaidai tennis team for two reasons: 1. Her brother is Yukimura Seichii, aka The Child of God. 2. She's the manager of the team! She thinks her position is for the better, until a girl--Tachibana An--transfers to Rikkaidai and attracts the attention of the entire team. And to make it worse, she didn't expect to like someone... a certain _someone_ who could make life a veritable hell...

* * *

**a blooming flower**

ch 2. - street tennis

-

My brother was serious.

(No one ever, _ever_, said no to Yukimura Seichii.)

He let me go after shortening the deadline to four days. One of these days I'm going to find a way to rub off that invisible smirk--oh yes, it was there. My slightly injured pride in being able to take care of myself forced me to walk all the way back to the clubhouse.

The fax machine beeped, and I tore off the incoming fax absentmindedly. Some athletic company wanted our team to advertise their shoes. That was the first line I read. I crumpled it up and tossed the document into the wastebasket, ignoring the recycling bin that was most helpfully next to the door.

The clubhouse was regulars-only, and thanks to the principal (and a little bit of negotiation by Niou's part) there was a separate storage room to boast all the trophies and awards that Rikkaidai had ever won in previous years. It was huge, lavish even, compared to other extracurricular places that they could call their own. This was where most of the regulars hung out before morning practice started, a sort of a lounge where you could get coffee or some generic sports drink to get your day started.

I collapsed on a sofa, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and angry at myself. I hadn't had a good night sleep for a while now, getting most of my energy from unhealthy sources. It wouldn't hurt if I catch a couple of winks...

And I guess I really am sleeping, because the next thing I know is that I'm driving a dune buggy on the surface of Mars until Sanada picks that time to wake me up.

"Shizuko-san. Practice is over. Please wake up."

I rub my eyes and yawn (Sanada frowns in disapproval, but who the hell cares what he thinks, anyways) and get off the couch. "What time is it?"

"Six forty-five. You've been sleeping for two hours."

"Good," I said. "I already feel better." I stretch my limbs out, and after that's done I get my stuff. "Where's Seichii-nii?"

"He went home earlier since he didn't want to disturb you. I was catching a bit a practice."

"That's good. Want to walk home with me?"

"You have a bike," he stated bluntly, then made for the exit.

_This guy_! I thought indignantly. _He could say no in a better manner_!

Then I remember who I'm talking to, and that sort of puts an end to the conversation. He is Sanada Genichirou, vice-captain and the Emperor of Rikkaidai. He did not get to where he was by being friendly.

I sigh and lock the clubhouse for the night. He's right. I do have a bike, and that makes things somewhat easier. I snap off the lock and hop on, riding solo and again going home late, the sun a tiny sliver of red. Suddenly it occurs to me that it would actually be _nice_ if I could pile work on someone else.

But who would actually be up to the task? Who would file those stupid things that were so trivial and yet so important to the team? Who would have the time to go to all the matches, regulars or alternates? Who would work hard and at the same time, enjoy it?

_Hmm_... I thought, swerving at a corner smoothly and pedaling at a leisurely pace. _This could take some serious thinking._

-

After I get through sorting out the student council budget for the team, I dial Yanagi's number. Me being a bit of an overachiever, I didn't even have to flip through my address book.

He picks up on the second ring, in that monotone voice of his, "Ah, it's Shizuko-san. What can I do for you?"

"Eh, well, it's not really something as much as a personal favor..."

"What can I do for you?" he repeated. I winced. There's something in Sanada and Yanagi that makes me cringe whenever I think about their social life. Then again, it really wasn't any of my problem...

"I was wondering if you knew any people that happen to be studious, hardworking, and would be willing to work as assistant manager of the boys' tennis team."

"Is there a certain type that you're looking for? An example would be if you preferred a male or female."

I consider it. "Male would be better. Females would be distracted on the job."

"One second. I'm viewing the current school rank list. I think that should narrow down your choices. Shall I send it by your email or not?"

"Send it by my email, please. But I'm not sure this would exactly help."

"I would recommend asking the broadcasting club when they do the announcements in the morning. Ask them for a small resume when you meet them."

"That's a start. Thanks, Yanagi-senpai."

"You're welcome," and he hung up.

I fire up my laptop (something that used to belong to Seichii-nii until he got out of the hospital and didn't need it anymore) and check my email account.

-----

**from**: (at) nanakiteru (dot) com

**to**: zuko.98 (at) kanaboard (dot) com

**re**: _class ranks_

I've collected data on many of these people. It was a simple task to transfer my thoughts to the list.

-Yanagi

-----

I've forgotten how computer-savvy Yanagi is (unlike his contemporary, Inui Sadaharu, who prefers to record via pen and paper). I click on his document that he embedded into my email, and in seconds I've got every student's information.

It's creepy to me how Yanagi can observe other people without feeling like an intruder. Or maybe he _does_feel like an intruder but doesn't show it. I'm looking at the top twenty ranked students of Rikkai Daigoku and I'm already feeling a little nervous. It's filed into two columns, the left hand side listing the name and rank, while the right hand side gives a general description of the person that they're like.

I find that it's funny how Japan encourages community work more so than being an individual, and the description throws me off a little at first. I'm so used to not paying attention to anything that's not related to the tennis club that I'm not surprised to find out I don't know the names of a couple of people in my class.

_I've been busy_, I reflected. Maybe too busy.

My rank is 59 in the school, which is pretty good for a first year student. It's around number 10 in my year--I manage my studies between breaks and this satisfies both my parents for the cost of tuition and things like that. Out of curiosity I look at my description.

_59. Yukimura Shizuko, class 1-A. Hard worker, helpful, and determined. Manager of the boys' tennis club. Sister of Yukimura Seichii, the team captain._

A sinking feeling enters my stomach. I wish I hadn't looked at my description now, because I was reminded again of the fact that my brother cast such a big shadow over me. Forever, I was going to be known as his little sister; it probably wouldn't matter if I transferred to a school or two. My name would only be a dead giveaway.

Then I remember that it was my own desire to work with his team. He didn't ask me to do it for him. He only took one glance and wondered why I did it.

"Are you sure about it?" was the only thing he asked. And I nodded confidently, looking straight in his eyes as if I had nothing to fear. "Yes, I am, Seichii."

Here I was, a couple of months later, drowning in paperwork and reduced to finding someone to help me because he thought I couldn't handle it myself. It was mortifying. Embarrassing. I shut off my laptop and ran downstairs.

"Where are you going, Shizuko-chan?" Seichii-nii asks from a different room.

I lace up my sneakers. "Out."

It's nine in the evening, and obviously this doesn't happen too often. So he has to ask questions.

"Out where?"

"Out. You know, _out_. Outside. Like not inside."

"But... how?"

"Well, I'm going to walk down the steps to our door, then I'm going to turn the doorknob, then pull on the door, and step over the threshold. I'm going out."

Seichii is quiet. Sarcasm makes Sanada get loud. My brother gets quiet.

"But where? I need to know where you're going, Shizuko."

"You need to know where I am? Because you don't think I'm a responsible person?" I shot back angrily. "Well, I am. I know how to take care of myself. I'm actually pretty good at it."

I'm done lacing up my shoes, and I slam the door behind me. Because who needs this, anyway? I break into a fast sprint and make it to the bus in record time.

The bus doesn't carry a lot of people at this time of night, so I get on a seat near the driver and punch out a few texts during the ride. One is for a friend of mine. Another is for Niou in case he asks all the team members about my sudden disappearance. Last but not least, there's a text addressed to my brother, telling him not worry his big fat head about me. I don't tell the specifics, because I'm still a little mad that he still thinks I'm his baby sister.

"Excuse me, sir?" I asked the bus driver.

In a voice that's louder than it needs to be, he replied, "Yes, miss? Can I help you?"

"Can you drop me off here? My stop is around there."

"Sure thing," he said and he released the twin doors with a pneumatic hiss. I get off with nothing except for the clothes on my back and of course, my trusty cell phone which was running low on batteries. Whatever.

Night. The paranoia is almost tangible when you let your imagination run wild. I walk a little quickly, not too slow, not too fast, and arrive to my destination safe and sound.

Here, the lights were bright and dazzling and filled up the whole place. Best of all, no one knows who I am. Well, at any rate, not my real name.

"Hey Princess!" Yuzuki called out to me, who for the moment is the queen of street tennis. "Haven't seen you for a while now."

"I've been busy. Can I borrow a racket?"

"Sure. I've got a spare. It's a little used, though..."

She tossed it to me. "Been playing tennis lately? I never see you in daylight anymore."

"Like I said, I've been busy," I replied evenly. Yuzuki raised an eyebrow. "Anyone new around here?"

Street tennis in the night is dominated by college kids. Some high school kids come here too, but mostly its people that are looking for a place to smoke, or somewhere they can loiter without attracting the attention of police.

She jabbed a perfectly manicured finger at a court. "The girl with the reddish brown hair. She came an hour ago, but I can already tell she's very good."

"Very good?" I repeated. "Is she playing a game right now?"

"Just go and watch," Yuzuki said, and flounced off to her many admirers, leaving me alone. I hadn't played tennis for three months. What if I made a fool of myself?

Then I remind myself why I came here in the first place, and strode towards the benches. A group of people were slowly gathering.

The girl was playing a game against a college kid, and while he wasn't a beginner at all, it was clear she already her fair share of victory. Her shots and serve was good and she had a competitive spirit.

I'm even more flabbergasted when the referee calls out "Game and match, Tachibana. Six games to zero."

"Onee-chan, care to play me?"

"Don't listen to him, he's a beginner. Play me!"

"No, me!"

I can tell she's a little flattered by the attention, but she doesn't want to waste time playing a couple of nobodies.

Suddenly I'm stricken by the fact that she's a girl, and a very pretty one at that. You know how Hemingway writes? He couldn't write about this girl's face. Because he'd say something like, "It was a pretty face." And that wouldn't be enough. This face needs someone like Dickens, or maybe Tolstoy. Someone who'd take a whole page and spend some time on her eyebrows and her straight nose, or the sparkle in her eyes when she was busy rallying against her opponents.

I take account into how many nights I've stayed up late, the homework and studying and working and managing, and how I've slacked off on practicing, and all of a sudden, a hot, swooping rush of emotion goes through my body. I'm jealous, oh yes I'm jealous, I'm jealous that she could look so happy and free while doing what she liked best.

I don't remember exactly what went through me. I knew I wanted to prove myself. I knew that I already didn't like her.

My body moved of its own accord, and in a voice that's not my own, I say, "Play me."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Cliffhanger! That girl is obviously Tachibana An, but who is going to win this match?

I love An-chan, so writing Shizuko's perspective is going to be hell. She's smart and sexy as hell. (But so is Shizuko.)

Frog: Hopefully this can be updated every Friday. All you have to do is check whether anything sounds funny. :D


	3. overprotected

**author's note**: I imagine Chitose's little sister, Miyuki, would be considerably skilled if she was a tad bit older. It's kind of a shame that she's only in middle school (right now, according to the fic's time line) because she would have made another introduction to the story easier. I mean, there's only so many OCs you can remember...

**summary**: Yukimura Shizuko represents the famed Rikkaidai tennis team for two reasons: 1. Her brother is Yukimura Seichii, aka The Child of God. 2. She's the manager of the team! She thinks her position is for the better, until a girl--Tachibana An--transfers to Rikkaidai and attracts the attention of the entire team. And to make it worse, she didn't expect to like someone... a certain _someone_ who could make life a veritable hell...

* * *

**a blooming flower**

ch. 3 - overprotected

-

"Play me," I commanded, instantly shutting up every rookie in the proximity. Even the obnoxious players that had never seen me before were quiet. I guess I inherited the intimidation factor from my brother.

Tachibana isn't cowed at all, instead, she's looking at me with an expression of interest.

"What's your name?"

"Princess."

"Mine's Tachibana An. Pleased to meet you."

Judging from what she's wearing (which is a sailor uniform, with blue trim) I think she's a high school student. She's two inches shorter than me, and I'm aware for the millionth time how I'd kill to be less taller than my current height. Thankfully, high school was more forgiving than middle school, and I stood out less.

We shake hands, and my white unblemished hands contrasted with her callused palms that screamed hard-core. _This girl is a serious player._

"Which?"

"Rough," she replies in her cheerful voice. I spin the racket, and what do you know, it's rough.

I nod to the referee, and he starts the game. He knew who I was. Most people did, around here. It's true that I played tennis. But I hated middle school, so I tried to disassociate myself from all that stunk of boys' tennis. All the negative energy was centered on improving myself. Pushing myself to the limit, improving my weakness, doing things by myself. It was such a stupid notion, a cry for attention.

I take a breath. I can't dwell on the past. This is not what I needed right now. All I know is that I'm jealous of a random stranger, and that defeating her will make me feel better.

"Just to tell you--" Tachibana said, winking at me (winked? Who _was_ this girl, anyway?) "--I'm pretty good."

"I noticed," I replied dryly. "Hurry up and serve the ball, why don't you?"

"Ooh, impatient." But she does it anyway, which comes fast and hard and quick. I barely make it in time, but then again, I haven't had enough contact with actual players for a while.

It resounded with a solid _thunk. _My stamina was pitiful, and all I had were my strategies. If they don't work, I am literally screwed.

This racket. It's definitely not my old familiar racket with the specialized grip tape that I stole from my brother. I'm not used to the control on it. It takes a few rallies (and sacrificing a few precious points) to get used to it.

"Thirty-love!" It's the referee's voice that gets me, and I'm annoyed that I'm taking this seriously.

"What's the matter?" An goaded at the other side of the court. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Hardly," I mumbled, and stand still in the middle of the court. At the very last second, I open my eyes and in a very Yanagi-ish fashion, I lob the ball and finally score a point, not to mention wiping off her little smirk. _His data tennis really does work_, I thought happily, and I'm glad that I still have that little penchant for observing habits and the like.

"How did you do that?" An's blue eyes are full of astonishment.

I shrugged. Generally, I would never talk too much on the court if possible.

_Find a weakness, and take advantage of it as soon as possible. _A motto ingrained from Yukimura's beginner days. Many people would underestimate his true terror because of his pretty looks, or his delicate nature. Now he didn't have to find a weakness; he _induced_ weakness. Now that I think about it, it was a highly unfair way to play.

The Child of God couldn't be summarized by three words. He was kind, compassionate, and slow to anger. On the other hand, he was slow to forgive, and when someone was hurt, he would do anything in his power to protect him.

Maybe that was why I played the game in a blur.

Everything was muted.

There was no way to focus after depending on my memories of my brother to deliver a no-fail strategy.

By the time I'm done volleying the ball to her weak side, I've won three whole sets.

It's a fucking easy game, I realized, and it made me sick.

_That's because you played seriously_, the unbiased part of my mind piped up. I'm tempted to say "shut up" but it'd be a heck of a lot easier if it wasn't so true.

When the hell did tennis become less... fun?

Why did I _have_ to take it so seriously?

And why is she, the opponent-who-is-losing-badly, grinning? Why is she not losing hope, not regretting her choice to play with me earlier? _Why_?

I'm still numb after the referee calls the score, and even number after Tachibana An smiles and walks towards me. Number still when she shakes my hand and congratulates me on being such a great tennis player, that she still has a lot to improve, and that she looks forward to playing against me again.

Cold sweat. This is probably a bad dream. Where's the buzz of success, where's the joy in winning?

My face must have been white or something, because eventually Yuzuki takes my hand and led me to the hot dog stand. She bought a can of pink lemonade and placed it in my lap.

"Cheers. I haven't seen a match like that in months," she said softly. I mechanically open the can and take a sip. "Thanks," I said, not daring to say anything else.

She ran a hand through her blond hair (dyed), keeping a watchful eye on me. "You must be tired."

I nodded, because it was an easy excuse for my sudden quietness. "Do you want me to take you home?"

I nodded again. "That'd be great, thanks."

We both stand up. It's only now I'm aware I've been a giant lie, with all of my accomplishments vanishing into air. It was like being given a whole new evaluation about me. I needed to let the ink dry out for a bit.

Yuzuki has a red Corvette, and it's gorgeous inside with dark brown leather. But all I could think was, _Why wasn't I happy about winning the match_?

Yuzuki senses I'm different, and consequently didn't ask about where I usually get off. I just pointed to a nearby street and nodded goodbye.

I spotted my brother sitting on the porch, still in his PJs. Typical. He checked his watch, and so did I. It showed a quarter to twelve.

I wondered if he was going to stay up all night if I had never went inside the front door.

Then there are new rules. I remember that there are new rules.

His expression of relief is almost laughable when he sees me striding in the house as if it was only four in the afternoon. "Shizuko! Oh god, I thought you'd gone somewhere and wouldn't come home until morning." His long, thin arms envelope my body in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're home."

My only reaction is to stand there until he finally lets go. I'm dying to go to my room and think over the match, but Seichii-nii often had the urge to act as my third parent. And I see the struggle in his face. It's a battle between the caring brother and the responsible brother. The responsible part of him wins, and now he's angry.

"And above all, Shizuko, I cannot believe you would do this! This is so completely irresponsible! I thought I made it very, _very_ clear that going out this time of night is dangerous. How can you not understand that?"

I don't say anything. I don't have to, so I don't.

"Well?" he gestured angrily. He's not so pale now. "Answer me, Shizuko! What is the idea of running off like that?"

"Like what? Like what?" I can't take this anymore. With the team, he doesn't yell at them. With me, _his little baby sister_, he has to say it out loud. "You mean like our parents taking another business trip, and only giving us instructions to take care of ourselves?" I shouted back. "What did Mom say to you before they both left? Don't tell me. She said, 'oh, don't worry, Seichii, it's only Shizuko-chan. It's probably just another one of those _phases_ that she goes through.' And you, you probably just nodded your head because you didn't really hear her, because you were already thinking about your team, your big tennis team at school. So then what does my responsible brother do? He worries about everything, from the way I work to the places that I go at night. Because so many other things aren't as important as _I_ am."

As I finish, I'm so close that he's getting sprayed with my contemptuous spit. He knows that I am not in a cage, not now. _I am out of the cage_, and _I am up close_, and _I am snarling_.

I don't wait for his answer because I don't have to. There are new rules. I trotted up to my room and slammed the door. And lock it.

And then I congratulate myself on the blowout. I'm not a kid anymore. I don't need to be under constant supervision from him.

It's only until next morning before I remember exactly how I felt after the match last night.

-

* * *

**Author's Note**: I don't know if I got the tennis part right or not... but Shizuko has a lot on her plate right now.

Sorry for not updating! D: I had to dilute most of the tennis because I'm still not familiar with it. xD


	4. enlightenment

**Author's Note**: Um, sorry for waiting really long? But hopefully this will make things a bit better. :D

There was another chapter for this, but it was scrapped. Writing a new one out of scratch is kind of hard.

* * *

**a blooming flower**

ch 4. - enlightenment

-

I turned off my alarm clock before I went to bed, because there was no way in hell I was waking up early after staying up so late. I even stuck a Post-it note on my door: DO NOT DISTURB.

Regardless, I woke up at ten thirty to a series of sharp knocks on the door.

"What?" I moaned into my pillow. "I thought I said I was going to sleep late this morning. I don't care if I'm late to school."

They didn't stop knocking, however. I tried to muffle the sound with another pillow, but that didn't work.

"What is it, you moron? This has to be good or I--" Then I opened the door and found Sanada outside wearing a pair of sweats and a white T-shirt. Cap included, of course.

"It's Sunday," he deadpanned.

I backpedal a bit. "Then why the hell aren't you training outside or something?" I groaned. "Leave me alone. I enjoy my off-days sleeping."

"I can't do that. I owe your brother."

"Well, you'd be doing _him_ a favor if you let his baby sister sleep in for a while."

He pauses a bit, searching for something in my puffy, bloodshot eyes. "He told me you had a fight with him last night."

"I do not want to discuss that right now. In fact, I do not want to discuss that at all--" here, I made to close the door. Honestly, I tried.

He stopped the door with the force of his arm, however. "No."

I pushed even harder, but it was no match for a perfectly trained athlete. He seemed amused at my effort.

"Okay! Fine, I give up." I gave the door a final kick in retaliation. "What did he send you here for? And why didn't he wake me up if he had a big deal with it?"

Sanada didn't answer, preferring to walk into my room and surveying its contents. He instantly zeroed on the racket, which was lying on the rug next to the mattress.

"I--was--but you--" I stammered. Did he read my mind?

"You played tennis yesterday, didn't you?" he asked quietly. "I saw you in the morning, so you couldn't have done it then. After practice, you were sleeping on the couch and Yukimura told me to wake you up."

He looked at me for a moment, then walked out.

"Wait. Sanada-san!"

He stopped walking and turned his head toward me. I noticed he had a hole in his sock.

"Don't tell him. Please?"

Now he was getting his tennis shoes on.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Don't you ever talk? We could work out something here!"

He unzipped his bag and pulled out another tennis racket.

"Why don't you get dressed and we'll go out for a game?" he finally suggested, his eyes raking over my short shorts and the white camisole I was wearing. "It's cold outside."

**-x-**

The buses were crowded in the afternoons on Sundays. Both of us were in close proximity to each other, and consequently I found out how exactly tall he was. I was only ten centimeters shorter--and the top of my head was crammed in the crook between his chin and his torso.

"Sorry about that," I grunted out, trying not to release my hand on the bus pole.

"Hn," was his only reply.

I was relieved when the bus finally stopped and let some people out. I took a deep breath; I was slightly claustrophobic.

When I was able to look at him without embarrassment, I asked him, "Where are we going?"

For the first time, he smiled, and what was even more amazing, it was directed toward me.

"You'll see."

I tilted my head to the left, trying to figure him out. This was most unlike his character--usually, the most interaction I'd ever see with him and other people was with his teammates. Even if my brother had started him on Sanada's new kick of trying to socialize more, he never said more then ten words in a row.

I put the back of my hand on his forehead under his cap, and he stepped back in surprise.

"You don't have a fever," I said, frowning. "But today, you're smiling, you're taking a _girl_ somewhere on a Sunday morning, and you actually answered one of my questions."

A flash of annoyance passed through his eyes. "You're not a stranger," he answered, pulling the rim lower like he always did when he was being defensive. "And don't think I'd do this for anyone if it wasn't for Yukimura-buchou."

"_Wow_. You must really love him," I answered sarcastically.

"He's a good friend," he replied, basically ignoring what I just said. "He's the best tennis player in the circuit, and stronger determination than anyone I know."

"Isn't that so!" I waved both of my hands in the air in mock celebration. "This would be _so_ much more impressive if I actually didn't _live_ with him."

Now I could tell he was getting angry. "_You_ would never understand--"

"You're right! I'd never understand, because it was me who waited and wasted her entire year beside his sick body! I'd never understand, because I knew he was _this_ close to actually dying!"

I turned away, feeling close to tears, but I would be damned to hell before I let Sanada see I was actually crying. Bastard.

Thank God the bus was still noisy. I don't think I could have stood it if everybody's eyes were on me.

"You know what? I don't need this," I said, voice cracking from the effort of trying not to break down. "I'm getting off."

"Shizuko-san!" I heard his distant voice, but it was too late, too late to take back something _that_ personal that I said. In the corner of my eye, unfortunately, I saw him push people out of the way to get off. God, I hated my life.

"So this was the reason why you had a fight with him," Sanada finally said in an odd voice when he had caught up to me. "You hate him."

"Go away," I sniffled, and curled into a ball on a nearby bench. "I suck."

In that instant, we both knew that the things we had said to each other didn't matter because we didn't mean them. Slowly, he sank down to sit down beside me; close, not touching, but definitely unusual for a guy like him.

"I'm sorry," he said first. "I did not mean to insinuate that you were inferior to him."

"It's okay. I know I suck compared to him." I wiped my eyes off with my sleeve. "I just hate how everyone associates me with him."

"But you can't help that," he argued. "If I were you, I'd use it to my advantage, instead of trying to fight against it."

He got up and stuck a hand out. I took it and got up.

He gave an approving nod and we walked to the courts, two blocks away. I figured I'd take his advice a bit more personally then my brother's since he didn't beat around the bush. With a guy like him, there was no bullshit going on.

"Can you play?" Sanada asked as soon we had arrived.

"No," I said firmly. "Definitely not."

"But you played yesterday."

"I'm not going to play a game with you," I clarified.

He looked highly affronted. "Do you know how many people would die to play a match against me?"

"Don't know, don't care," I stated flatly. I was _not _going to humiliate myself in front of the second best tennis player in the Kanagawa prefecture.

"It's not a choice for you, then," he replied, and hit the ball so fast that before I knew what I was doing I held my racket in the direction of the ball. It bounced into the net.

"Instinct," Sanada said calmly, as if I hadn't nearly gotten decapitated by that stray ball. "Just like your brother. You're a natural at the game."

"I hit it in the net."

"Patience," he said, and took another tennis ball out of his pocket. He served again, and this time I got it over the net.

My victory was short-lived, however; as soon as it had bounced he was there in a flash and volleyed it over.

I muttered a few choice words and raced over to the corner to catch up to him.

"You're too slow!" Sanada barked as he executed a perfect backhand. The ball flew beyond my reach, making the point his.

"I'm sorry!" I squeaked as I ran beyond court to fetch the ball.

"Do not apologize for something trivial like that! Improve, not make petty excuses!"

"Y-yes!"

An hour later, I was drenched in sweat after making significant progress. I wasn't even sure how I got suckered into playing a learning match with someone like Sanada, but I did know that whatever I felt playing was back. The intensity and the adrenaline was back. It felt so _good_ to be in action, rather than just seeing.

Finally, Sanada pocketed the tennis balls and stored his own racket away in his bag. He didn't even look tired, but I suppose when you trained with a demon like Seichii-nii, there had to be some immortal power passed on by osmosis.

Me, I had to drag myself to the fountains to stick my head under the cool rush of water. Even so, I was filled with new energy; a fire that was rekindled. How could have I pushed tennis away for other priorities?

I finally turned off the faucet and wiped my face with a dirty handkerchief, feeling satisfied for the first time in the span of three months.

Sanada was waiting for me as soon as I got to the bus station.

"Thank you," I said as sincerely as possible. "I... needed that."

He nodded approvingly. "Even if tennis for you may be tainted, it still remains utterly your own."

"What do you mean?"

"You still can play."

* * *

**A/N:** Hopefully there are no plot holes from what I've written seven months ago. :D Also, depending on beta's response, there will definitely be mistakes.

I'm still not sure what Shizuko looks like. She definitely has blue hair, and she's beautiful in a young Julia Stiles sort of way, but I don't know if I want her to have curly or straight hair. Also, her eye color is a big iffy for me too.

Anyways, whoever reads and review this can decide. Only catch: she has to look good next to Sanada Genichirou. ;D


	5. jealousy

A/N: Wow, I hadn't realized how good I had left this story. I liked it too much to delete it unfortunately, haha.

I finally figured out what Shizuko looks like. She physically resembles Kurumi from "Kimi Ni Todoke" but with dark blue hair and light blue eyes.

* * *

**a blooming flower**

Ch. 4 - jealousy

There was a girl hanging around my brother, and I hadn't paid much attention to her as the vast majority of the Rikkaidai population seemed to gravitate towards him.

And honestly, who could question that? He was smart, athletic, and attractive; three qualifications that gave him the privilege of being liked by everyone. Even if he wasn't the most friendliest guy, he'd gotten the respect of most people.

That was something I've always envied. I had to work pretty hard whether it was plain managing the team or having a good personality, but for him... It came effortlessly. He never had to stay up late studying and he never worried about zits or if somebody liked him romantically.

I didn't talk to my brother for a couple of days after our fight. If I had, I think I would have exploded, and I didn't think I could afford more distance from him than that.

Instead of working so hard, I gave myself a few hours off and practiced hitting balls on the wall. No one questioned I was, and I preferred it that way.

Sanada had chanced upon me once, although I hadn't noticed him at first.

"Seichii wants to see you," he said in his deep voice, arms folded, cap on as usual. It was a testament to their close friendship that Sanada was allowed to call my brother by his first name.

My eyes narrowed, and I caught the ball with an open palm. "Well,_ I_ don't want to talk to him."

"You're being selfish."

"So what?" I shrugged.

"He really cares about you."

Now this was a surprise. "Never thought you'd interfere in other people's problems."

He stretched his cap down. "It'd be worth my time if the people I care about were being stupid... Like you."

I couldn't read his expression.

"Anyways, he found a new assistant manager."

"Okay," I said softly.

"I've got to go," he added. "I can't keep waiting here any longer."

I watched him as his back turned and slowly walked away from the place I stood.

_It'd be worth my time if the people I care about were being stupid... Like you._

I mulled over his words. He was a man of very few words, and he probably meant every word he said.

Which, to be honest, made me feel uncomfortable.

(Yet at the same time, it pleased me.)

Sanada Genichirou had always been a mystery to me; he didn't open well to others. He was a strict, honorable traditionalist whose family owned a kendo dojo.

I'd always wonder what he was thinking when I saw him in the hospital with my brother.

Was he always keeping his emotions locked in a box?

Or was there more than what met the eye?

**-x-**

From a far distance, I saw her -

_Tachibana An_.

I didn't want to meet her.

I didn't like her.

She was too pretty and nice for her own good.

She was cute and had a spunky personality.

She was _real_. The kind of girl that boys were attracted to naturally and wanted to marry someday.

I forced myself to smile and introduce myself to her.

"You!" she exclaimed surprisingly. The look of recognition was in her eyes. "I didn't know you went to this school."

"You two have met before?" My brother asked, surprised.

"Yeah," I said shortly. "Well, the clubhouse is this way, Tachibana-san."

"Oh, don't call me that!" An chirped, and suddenly I wanted to run away. "If we're going to be working together, call me An-chan."

"That's..." I said weakly. "Well, come on."

The door opened to the clubhouse, and I turned on the lights. An whistled. "Wow, this is bigger than Fudomine's club."

"Did you use to manage for their team?"

She laughed a little. "Not really. I used to play for the girl's team, but I liked to tag after my brother. He's a professional right now."

"Oh... What's his name?"

"Tachibana Kippei!" she said, grinning. "He's gotten a few regional titles. You might have heard of him."

"I think I might have," I said.

A comfortable pause prompted me to ask her, "So, why didn't you go to the high school in Fudomine?"

Her hand rose to touch the back of her head, as if she was slightly embarrassed to answer the question. "Oh... Fudomine didn't have a high school."

"What about Seigaku?"

"I needed a change of pace," she shrugged, sitting on the couch and stretching her limbs out. "Well, that's life for you. A relative of mine had surgery so she was okay with me staying at her place. I took the opportunity, and here I am."

I envied her even more, as if being jealous of her wasn't bad enough already.

"So what's with you and your brother? Seems like y'all weren't getting along."

"He got mad at me for sneaking out. Only he doesn't know that I was playing street tennis."

"Oh. I was wondering why you didn't want to talk much in front of him."

I shrugged.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?"

Later, I learned a few more things about her. She had arrived in the school two weeks ago, trying to find her way around and was finding herself popular, especially among the boys.

She didn't seem to like Kirihara, though, and I knew better than to question her about it. An would narrow her eyes and her smile would vanish suddenly when she saw him around, as if she held a personal vendetta against him.

Yet the boy himself always come around, trying to draw her to him whether it was annoying on purpose or partnering up with her in class.

And it bugged me.

"Why do you like her so much?" I asked him once when he was alone in the clubhouse, tying his sneakers.

"She's interesting," he said. "And anyways, it's not like I'm going to date her."

"Sure seems that way," I grumbled, as I turned the combination lock to open the locker.

"Hey, what do you have against her?"

"Nothing."

He stood up and scrutinized me. "I just wanted to tell you, Shizuko-san, that none of us have forgotten you even if Tachibana is staying here. You're Buchou's little sister, and even if Tachibana says something against you, we'll back you up."

"You don't have to do that," I said.

"Okay," he said most agreeably. "See you later."

It wasn't that I didn't appreciate what Kirihara said. It was that I was watching out for his interests, and I was afraid that his Devil Mode would come out if An provoked him. As much as I disliked her, I would have hated myself if I couldn't prevent a tragedy like that happening to her.

**-x-**

Despite my former presumptions, I couldn't keep hating her for stupid reasons.

She was pretty, but she had a bit of a mouth.

_"Fuck off,"_ she swore to the next guy who kept pestering her to go on a date with him.

She was nice, but she could tell if a person wanted to take advantage of her.

_"I'm not lending you my homework, asshole. I've got my own shit to take care of,"_ she said in a voice that almost seemed to radiate Buddha's everlasting calm and serenity.

And for some reason she _really_ enjoyed managing the club next to me.

Especially the espionage part where we had a bit of trouble trying to get to different schools around the Kanagawa Prefecture.

An was charming and spirited, and I, rather than envying her, chose to admire and possibly emulate that part of her. If there was something that she wanted, she got it.

Deep down, I knew I'd been fighting my insecurities. I was glad that I won in the end. Tachibana An was a force to be reckoned with, and I didn't intend to be the one who chose to go against her.

She later explained that growing up with mostly boys, she attracted her fair share of hate from jealous schoolgirls.

"I don't know exactly why they disliked me," she admitted. "Nowadays I'm a little uncomfortable being around girls."

I thought briefly of my own history of being pushed around just because I got to associate with the nation's top high school tennis team. It wasn't the bullying, or the catty remarks that had gotten to me.

It was their unfounded jealousy at something I couldn't help.

I couldn't help being related to my brother. I couldn't help liking tennis or the things he liked himself, right?

"I understand," I said. "I mean, I know where you're coming from."

She looked up at me, smiling. "I know you do, Shizuko."

I didn't like her, but I didn't dislike her anymore. Does that make any sense? I mean, I respected her as a person. But I didn't think she'd be the kind of person I could confide in.

The more I worked with her, the more I started to know her. And it was nice, to collaborate with someone who had a passion for tennis for the sport.

My feelings on the matter were undecided.

Tachibana An was hard to figure out.

Usually, I'd be quick to judge people. It wasn't something I could help; either they were a nice person or they weren't. After getting to know them for a while I'd decide whether they were worth any of my time. I could tell if they just wanted to use me to get closer to my brother and his friends.

But there was a time - middle school, to be exact - where I was more innocent and a bit more open than I should have been.

As a second year, I was fairly popular around that time. Since my brother (a third year) was in the hospital, I got plenty of sympathy votes and I was flattered that a few upperclassmen had asked if they could go visit Seichii.

"Sure," I'd say, and they seemed to like me then, buying me drinks and carried things for me.

And then that was when problems seemed to pile up.

Rumors flew around. There were rumors that I was a slut. There were rumors that I cheated. There were rumors that I was using my brother to get around.

No one seemed to believe that they weren't true.

I couldn't pinpoint who was responsible for this. I didn't know who was my friend.

Was it my fault?

Did I do something wrong?

I didn't get up one morning, figuring it was better to skip school than to deal with it.

It was around that time where I decided to quit tennis. I got sick of people trashing with my stuff, and the disapproval in my captain's eyes was too much to bear.

I was a coward, running away from my problems. But since when had I been strong to deal with it?

Instead of being open and friendly, I did everything to remain distant. Out of the way, invisible. Seichii-kun didn't understand anything when he got out of the hospital.

I think I was a target back then because of him. They couldn't get at him, so they had to resort to me.

And to this day, I didn't think he'd ever find out.

The only people I talked to was mainly the people who made up the boy's team - like Niou, or Kirihara. But that was only in private, and only when I needed something from them. I could sense their worry, but they had their own problems to deal with. After all, they were working their way up to Nationals, no easy feat.

I became a little cooler, a little sharper, a little bitter.

In high school, it was like someone had turned on a switch. I needed to prove to someone that I wasn't messed up.

I knew I was pretty, so I started dressing more provocatively. My uniform, which I had always followed guideline rules until then, was loosely worn and a button remained unbottoned. The skirt was pulled up a few more inches than was necessary. I bought the longest pair of socks I could find in the department store and I even started wearing makeup.

I knew I was smart, so I started studying harder. One thing turned to another, and I started managing the tennis club.

I didn't have a decent explanation to as why I turned from such a carefree kid into this... I don't know what to call it. It was like I was purposely _daring_ someone to criticize me, unless they thought otherwise.

So in return, most of the students kept their distance.

And I didn't want that to change.

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter has been long overdue. Sorry!

I think the pairing for this story should be clearly obvious; however, I try to make it very very subtle.


	6. hourglass

**A/N:** I enjoyed writing this story so much I had to crank out another chapter.

What I was working before this: an InoKiba oneshot, a GinTsu oneshot (from Gintama), and another chapter for Zero Regrets (for Code Geass). So, it's not out of laziness that I delay stuff, I do work on different stuff, but the creative process is often a messy and difficult one.

I got confused for a bit on Shizuko's character for a while and I don't want any of my readers to be like that. So I guess here are the _**basics**_:

-She's very serious, but she also has a bit of a temper when it comes to her brother.

-She's very self-conscious about her looks.

-She's very competitive.

-She bottles up her emotions.

-The person she admires the most is her brother.

-She is a first year in high school, while the majority of the tennis team are second-years.

-She likes to cook. Her brother washes the dishes afterward.

-She managed the Rikkaidai middle school tennis club her third and second year shortly after quitting tennis.

* * *

**a blooming flower**

Ch. 6 - hourglass

"Why do you play so hard if you're just a manager?" An asked me curiously as I told her about my new regimen.

"I don't know," I told her after we finished off a college sucker and his unfortunate girlfriend. My mother hadn't even asked where I was going - she just saw me out the door without any questions or worries. Tachibana An had invited me to play tennis, and it was An's idea to hustle money out of them. We looked like innocent high school girls who didn't know one ball from another, so people thought they had a chance of making a small fortune out of us.

Unfortunately, that was their downfall, not ours. Neither An nor I were experts on doubles, but we divided the court in half and played accordingly.

I considered An's question. Playing tennis was just something I did naturally. It was in the Yukimura blood to play tennis aggressively, gracefully, and pridefully. I might have quit playing in front of my classmates, but it wasn't like I quit _completely_.

"I bet..." she said slowly, not wanting to provoke a reaction while we took a break. "I bet it's your brother, right? You want to be strong."

"I do," I agreed. "But I'm not looking to beat him or something stupid like that."

"That _would_ be ridiculous. But you're quite good, Shizuko-chan. Do you have any special moves?"

"I used to have a very fast serve," I said. "But that was in middle school. I don't think I can do it anymore."

"What was it called?"

"Starbeam - my brother was the one who coined it. He said it looked like it was twinkling out of the sky." I sighed. My brother wasn't very good at giving names.

"Sounds cool."

"Nah, it was stupid. It took a lot of energy to utilize it. And anyways, it wasn't hard to return."

"You know what I think, Shizuko? You're being too hard on yourself."

"But - "

"You're too good just to quit. And anyways, you're still a first-year in high school."

"That may be," I admitted as I polished off a water bottle.

"It's not 'maybe', it's true," An said, kicking her legs up on my lap. "You're too serious that sometimes I think you resemble Sanada-san more than your brother."

I glared at her. "Don't be ridiculous."

"It's true. Oh, and now you're blushing."

That made me even blush more. "I am _not_ a serious person."

She only laughed. "You're just as disciplined as _he_ is. You don't just run, you run until you can keep up with them."

"That's not a bad thing," I pointed out. I refused to be weak under any of the team's eye.

"True," she conceded. "But try not to work too hard. Next thing you know, you could wear a completely ugly hat and start slapping some poor soul who didn't perform to the best of his ability - "

"Sanada gets results," I said defensively. For some reason I didn't mind defending the stoic vice-captain. He was my brother's closest friend - and there was a punctual efficiency that defined him. I liked that part of him too because he was defined by passion for tennis. And in a weird way, I respected that he had obligations to follow up on. He had a team to lead and a team to support.

And... for some unfathomable reason, I often thought that if it weren't for tennis, he'd be an interesting guy to talk to.

An flashed me a cheeky grin. "I suppose you're right - if I didn't know you any better, I'd say you'd have a thing for him."

"I don't!" I protested. Admiring him was one thing, to admit that he was actually dating material was another.

"Yeah, yeah," An said. "I know. Still, he's not bad looking after you take off his hideous cap."

I sighed. This wasn't a conversation I wanted to be having, especially with a smart girl like Tachibana An. She spoke lightly, but she remembered everything that a person said to her.

There was a crowd forming at another court, and I changed the subject before An could interject with another of her witty observations.

"I wonder what's going on over there?"

Both of us got up and An being the person she was shoved a few people out of the way to make room for us. More incredibly, nobody protested at our intrusion.

There was a girl in the middle of a match with a middle-aged man. At first guess I assumed it was daughter against father, but the snippets I heard from the audience suggested otherwise.

"Wow, she's doing really well against him!" a girl said excitedly to no one in general.

"Who is _he_?" An asked with a mild interest. After all, the majority of players who came to the tennis club were beginners or people who merely played for pleasure. An considered herself playing for half pleasure, half practice; and anyone who was good enough to play with her on a competitive level was interesting in her book.

"Don't you know? He used to be a professional tennis player until he had an ankle injury. Now he's one of the top coaches in the Kanagawa region."

"So why is he playing with her?"

"I think she asked him to be his coach."

I studied the girl. She seemed to be around my age, but you could never tell exactly with those kind of things. Her boyish haircut was a little messy, sticking in different directions, but her toned muscles showed that she had put into many hours of physical conditioning. She seemed to have a strong forehand, an equally strong backhand, and her serve was...

Her serve was _beautiful_. There wasn't any other word for it. If her physicality was remarkable, it was nothing compared to the fluid movement as her shoulders rolled back to slam the tennis ball on the other side. That serve told me she was a dedicated player, a true practicer of tennis, and had a passion for the sport. Those were things that seperated the ordinary from the extraordinary.

"Holy shit," I said. "She actually served with her left hand."

An nodded in disbelief, eyes still focused on the game.

To my surprise, it was no game of head-on strength, but a game where strategy was completely utilized. The girl seemed to be aiming for the corners which I knew from past experience would be very hard to return the ball. But I also noticed that the coach was not riled up easily; a good sign. He seemed to be enjoying this match thoroughly, and I knew that he was taking in her habits and behavior traits. He was playing the defensive, while the girl seemed to be attacking at all angles.

She's a strong aggressive baseliner, I noted. It's too bad that the person she chose to play against is an expert counter-puncher.

It didn't stop the cheering any less, and around match point she blew her admirers a kiss, which of course made the audience go bananas over her.

"She's got charisma," An remarked. "Kind of like Kirihara when he plays in that obnoxious way of his."

I grinned. So even An went to watch practices when she had free time, eh?

The match to my surprise turned out to be highly contested. Especially when the score was six games to five in the coach's favor. Everyone could feel the tension from both of the players - I was getting worried over the girl because her shots seemed less powerful and more sluggish.

"Her stamina's getting low," one person said. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Of course she is!" a kid replied confidently. "Kyoko-chan's not our sensei for nothing!"

And then, a shot - _a shot that meant the difference between winning or losing_ - hit the net. That exact moment frozen in time would be transfixed in my mind forever.

As the two players ran towards the net, I could see the ball bounce up in slow motion and fall to Kyoko's side as she desperately tried to reach it.

The coach had won.

**-x-**

There are some events that trigger a lifelong thirst for something that a person might not have realized to have existed in the first place.

In my case, it was the case of Tanaka Kyoko and her father, a classic case of offspring trying to find 'their own tennis'. I chewed on my pencil as I was looking up a few articles on her father on the Internet. Seichii-nii had lent me a few magazines that showcased some of the best coaches in the Yokohama district. Neither was proving particularly useful.

I didn't know what it was about that girl that I happened to chance upon that Sunday afternoon. Even if she had lost, she still got back up, grinned good-naturedly and shook her dad's hand without a trace of bitterness. I knew from past experience that I could do no such thing. I took losses hard and I played all-out when necessary.**  
**

"You're Yukimura-san, right?"

A strange woman with glasses had approached me as I ate lunch alone in the clubhouse, door wide open to let a breeze filter through. She wore a long white lab coat and seemed younger than most of the teachers at Rikkaidai Fuzoku.

"Yes ma'am," I said, back straightening up. "How can I help you?"

"My name is Hanamura Aoi. I'm the coach for the girls' tennis team." She extended a hand, and I shook it. "I received a few recommendations for you when I was looking for potential regulars for the upcoming District preliminaries."

"Beg your pardon, Sensei, but I hold a managing position for the boys' team," I said as politely as possible. "And I haven't been playing for a few years now."

"I understand that. However, Niou Masaharu and Yukimura Seichii said that you might be interested as long as there was a chance that there might be interesting players on the circuit."

"Well... I don't know," I admitted. "I've never explored the women's tennis circuit before."

"It's a bit different from the men's circuit, yes," she said, smiling in a way that made me think she had been in my position once. "But I think it'd be worth your time if you could come to tryouts Monday morning."

I blinked once. She bowed once, her point made clear and exited out of the building.

That was sudden, I thought. This woman must've been confident if she thought she could come up with a decent team two weeks before the tournament.

"Are you going to do it?" Niou asked, coming out of nowhere.

I shrugged. "I don't know. She seems different, though."

"Yeah. She was the one who coached the Jyosei tennis team a few years ago and was in charge of Sanada and Atobe's match at the Senbatsu Camp."

"Wonder why she'd coach girls after being around guys for so long," I said, frowning. If she had witnessed Atobe Keigo in a match with Sanada, then she was no stranger to strong players. Aside from my brother, Tezuka Kunimitsu, and Echizen Ryoma, the only other player that Sanada acknowledged as an equal was the captain of the Hyotei tennis club.

"Well, I have enough experience to tell you that if you joined, you'd be in good hands," Niou said. "Puri."

"Niou," I sighed. "Why did you put my name into suggestion?"

"I didn't, really. Sanada thought it was a good idea. The woman came sniffing around asking all of us if we knew any girls who had a passion for tennis, and fukubuchou dropped off your name first."

"Kami-sama," I said, slightly stunned that _he_ of all people recommended me. "I don't know if I really want to join."

"If fukubuchou says it, I'd think you should do it."

I sighed.

**-x-**

So it was with great deliberation and hesitation that I showed up on the other side of the courts. Hanamura-sensei seemed pleased and had even called out - "I'm so glad you could make it, Yukimura-san."

I flushed. One thing I certainly wanted to keep quiet was my relation to my brother. I hadn't even mentioned to him that I was seriously considering to join the girl's team.

Luckily, it seemed that no one had paid attention; a flock of girls had shown up and judging from their conversations, I would have no problem going unnoticed.

"Oh, isn't tennis fun? I play it all the time with my friends."

"I just signed up so I could see the regulars from the boys' team more often."

"You're shameless!"

"Yeah, well they're hot!"

(At this, I sighed again. It seemed that sighing was quickly becoming my trademark.)

The captain stood on the other side of the net, hands akimbo and posture one of dominance. I took one look at her and liked her instantly. She had light purple hair, glasses and seemed to operate a no-nonsense personality. She tied her hair in a side ponytail secured by a flower hair clip.

"Welcome to the girls' tennis club," she said in a confident voice. "My name is Sarutobi Ayumu. But you can call me Sa-chan if you want."

Another girl walked up to her. "Sorry I'm late! I'm the fukubuchou, minna-san! Makato Kurumizawa-desu!" She was cute and one of the most popular girls in the senior class. Rumor had it that she used to be a former Yankee in her middle-school days until her mother sent her to reform school; it was to anybody's guess how she ended up bubbly and perpetually cheerful.

"Kurumi," Sarutobi addressed coolly. "I thought I told you to be on time for the incoming freshmen."

"Yeah yeah, I know, but there was this elderly crossing the street. Ah! Are these the new students? They're so kawaii!" Her hands were clasped in hopeful anticipation.

An irritated scowl furled on Sarutobi's face. "Stop ruining our professional image already, you're making it worse."

Kurumi ignored this and said, "You all are going to play matches - one on one with everybody including the regulars." She gestured to a signboard that was pinned on the opposite side of the court. "Matches start after warm up. Hanamura-sensei?"

"Ah yes," the coach said, clearing her throat. "As you all know, conditioning is very important. We'll start slow - ten laps around the tennis courts."

After that was done (I finished mine in record time) Hanamura prescribed us several stretching exercises. Then it was time for the matches, something I'd been looking forward to ever since I stepped on the court. I was to play a girl named Tatsuya Sachiko, but before I could make my way to Court A Hanamura-sensei walked up to me.

"I've changed my mind," she said. "I want you to play Tanaka-san."

_What?_

"You mean - " I began, eyes bulging. It couldn't be... _Could it_?

A too-familiar girl walked up to me - the same girl with a boyish haircut, easy grin and the lean, toned muscles. "I'm Kyoko. Nice to be playing you, Yukimura-san."

* * *

**A/N: **An epic tennis match for the upcoming chapter? yes yes and yessssss. :3

I apologize for the three OCs that popped up this chapter. But they're a little necessary. Others will be introduced later, and hopefully I have the finesse to pull this wonderfully. XD

_Little ramble here_: I think Sanada Genichirou is one of the most interesting characters in the PoT fandom. He's not like Tezuka, where he's only strict and a powerful tennis player and that's *it*. No, what really appeals to me is his reactions to Atobe and Yukimura (I am a rabid Tango fan, I can't get over the fact that Atobe and Sanada are fighting over Tezuka!). Also, I'm a little biased because he once kicked Ryoma's ass by tennis. Thatandhe'sreallyhot.

As always, please review. I appreciate each and every one of them. :D


	7. puzzle piece

**A/N:** And now for the epic tennis match! Heheheheh. OK not really. But I hope it's up to par.

* * *

**a blooming flower**

Ch. 7 - puzzle game

My brother was an all-rounder player. It wasn't until a few years ago that I had realized how difficult it was to employ the best of each strategy, whether it was an aggressive baseliner (Kirhara), a counter puncher (Yanagi), or a serve and volleyer (Marui).

The other day, I had asked the one and only Sanada Genichirou if he could teach me how to properly employ the backspin. I figured since a guy like him was invincible, he would have been best suited to polishing up the basics. Certainly, I felt more comfortable asking him for help than my brother - I had seen what the "yips" could do to his opponents, and it wasn't pretty.

He only smirked and unleashed with one of his legendary Fū Rin Ka Zan techniques.

Needless to say, the racket skyrocketed out of my wrist. If I had recalled correctly, Akaya had always struggled to overcome Sanada's strong forehand shots.

"_H-hey_!" I protested at the other side of the court. "I'd break my wrist trying to return that!" I admit that was an exaggeration, but I didn't expect him to take me too seriously. After all, I had only trained up to the week Hanamura-sensei walked up to the clubhouse, albeit a little bit harder than An would have expected.

"Then don't," he said calmly as I walked over to pick my racket back. "You've got quickness and agility on your side. So instead of deciding to push back, why don't you employ your opponent's strength?"

"How?" I asked him point-blank. It seemed impossible to me.

He didn't answer. He just took out another tennis ball and served again.

This time, I used both of my hands, but the ball bounced off in the craziest angle. I frowned. This wasn't_ right_ - I was more competent than most tennis players.

Then I studied the ball - it wasn't a flat serve. It had a definite spin.

Then I understood. I had to _neutralize_ the topspin. And the only way to do it was to use a backspin.

Sanada was taking out another ball from his pocket, and this time, I was ready.

**-x-**

"What's the matter, Yukimura? Scared already?" Kyoko teased me.

Actually, I was. But I wasn't one to back from a challenge, and I reminded myself that I had an advantage over her - I knew her strategies. But she didn't know mine.

(But how was I supposed to know she went to the same exact school as I did? Did Rikkaidai have an equally strong girls' tennis team on par with the boy's? It was too incredible to consider!)

"Which?" she asked and I replied, "Smooth."

I was going to be the first server. Good, I thought with relief. I would have some time to prepare a decent strategy while getting a good feel for her game.

I took out a tennis ball out of my pocket, and struck a good, hard serve. Kyoko seemed to be surprised at it, but returned it just as strong as I had. I grinned. So she wasn't planning to go easy on me, a thought that I both admired and appreciated at the same time.

Her forehands were strong, but not as strong as I had thought it would be. After a long string of us hitting the ball back and forth, I decided to slice the ball.

Kyoko couldn't return that.

"Hmm... you're pretty good," she decided. "Catching me unaware with that sneaky trick of yours! But you can't win by tricks alone," she said confidently, eyes flashing like they were electric sparks.

"I don't need tricks to win," I responded in spite of myself. And we both grinned -partly out of acknowledgment, partly because we liked good fights.

"Okay then; how about this?"

The forehand was almost breathtaking, and I could feel some of my muscles straining. By some miracle I returned it.

Kyoko scowled at this, and hit another ferocious forehand. I wasn't so lucky this time.

_Think!_ How would I return this ball?

I served again, and this time got close to the net. Kyoko in anticipation of my moves lobbed the ball upwards, but I ran backwards fast and jumped, as if I wanted to smash it.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't a smash. It was a drop shot, and Kyoko was too far behind to reach it before the ball got to its second bounce.

"The Feint Drop Volley," I said with a dramatic flourish. I'd taken a game from her already.

She snorted. And I saw that it was her time to dominate, her time to serve.

Kyoko bounced the ball a few times, then threw it up. The solid thunk of the racket was evidence that the ball was in a constant trajectory, but where was it?

Two seconds later, there was a ball grinding against the fence. I turned my head around to see a ball drop down from the wall to the ground.

_Holy shit_, I'm thinking. Her powerful serve was even scarier in person.

"15-0!" the referee calls out.

"How'd ya like that, Yukimura?" Kyoko asked. I paid no attention to her taunts; tennis was as much of a psychological sport as it was physical. Giving into her mental game would not have been a wise decision. Her cockiness was almost abrasive, but I dealt with egos everyday. The trick was not to feed them more than you could stand.

She served again. I couldn't see the direction of the ball, and I bit my lip.

The next time was better, this time I could run to the ball even if it passed me by. I sensed that it was a serve that sucked up a lot of her stamina and while she wasn't tired yet, her serve was not worked out completely where there were no mistakes.

There was a tiny bounce that got progressively higher the more she used her serve.

With a burst of speed, I scooped the ball, and flung it over the net with all my strength. It made a perfect arc with a satisfying slam.

"45-15!"

"YES!" I said loudly. _Fuck the haters_, I added immaturely in my head. If overcoming a strong serve wasn't badass, then you'd better tell me what was.

A bead of my sweat dropped on the ground, and I blinked once again. I hadn't been aware of my fatigue and suddenly it seemed like the earth's gravity was pressing down on me. But this was no time to get exhausted, I intended to win this match.

Before Kyoko could get another serve in, we had a distraction interrupting our match.

"Stop!" Hanamura-sensei commanded. Her face was smiling, and I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

Both Kyoko and I looked at her questioningly, and she folded her arms. "Those two will be regulars. How about it, Makato-san, Sarutobi-san?"

The two had returned from their own respective matches in time to see my fabulous return on Kyoko's serve.

Makato-san replied immediately - "Yes. I can see that they're uncommonly good." Her jacket jersey was off, and to my disbelief she wasn't even sweating from her earlier match.

The captain on the other hand seemed to be in deep thought before replying. "... I'm not sure about having two first-years on the team so soon," she finally said. My heart fluttered nervously; I hadn't considered _not_ making the team. But if it was up to her, then there was nothing I could do about it.

"Having them play the other girls would waste more time." Hanamura said frankly. "To be honest, I had expected more people to sign up for the girls' tennis team."

"That's true," Sarutobi said slowly. "However, I will have to reconsider it before putting them on the roster. One might be acceptable, but to have two?"

Kyoko looked at me straight in the eye. "We'll continue this match later, Yukimura," she said with a grin, racket pointed straight at me. She had a set of fangs that made me think of a vampire's leer towards its next victim.

"As you wish, Tanaka-san," I said humbly.

**-x-**

We stood face-to-face with the captain as she read off a list of names of those who had made the team. Kyoko and I were anxiously waiting to see if we had made the team, as we hadn't forgotten the captain's hesitation about putting first-years on the team.

"Makato Kurumizawa."

"Toudou Hisako."

"Fujiwara Midori."

"Minamoto Hotaru."

"Tanaka Kyoko."

"Yukimura Shizuko."

The captain looked up at all of us and nodded. "That's all for today. Practice is dismissed."

I let out a breath I had no recollection of holding. Kyoko saw this and said, "Nervous you wouldn't make it?"

I looked at her and saw she wasn't saying this to make me angry. So I relaxed and said, "Yeah."

She was rather pretty in a casual, androgynous way. Her nose was slim and her eyes were a light shade of gray. She had freckles and her yellow hair stuck out in different directions.

"I saw you play with your dad last Sunday," I blurted out. "You were really good."

"Oh, you saw that?" One of her eyebrows were raised. "Yeah... it was a fun game." And there was a gentle curve to her lips, as if what I was saying seemed to bring up memories from a long time ago.

There was a comfortable pause before she asked me, "How did you know I was playing my dad?"

Now I blushed; I didn't want her to know anything about my extensive research. "I asked around."

"Yukimura, you're a terrible liar," Kyoko said bluntly, although she seemed to be amused. We were walking to the girl's locker room. "My dad doesn't talk about his personal life, so unless you dug up some stuff from a really long while back or guessed about me and him, you wouldn't know anything."

"I guessed," I admitted. "I got curious."

"That explains why you were able to return my serve!" she said suddenly, thinking aloud. "That, and you're really good."

"Thanks."

"Yukimura-san, Tanaka-san, come here," Makato said. We obeyed instantly.

She was taller than both of us, and I was reminded of my brother for some reason. "I called the guy who makes our uniforms. You two should drop off at his place as soon as you can."

"Okay, fukubuchou," I said. Makato herself was wearing a Rikkaidai uniform - a one-piece affair that had a yellow skirt, camisole-ish top, and a black stripe on the top. I thought to myself that it wouldn't have looked good on certain people, but on the vice-captain it gave her a certain confidence and assertion.

I'd never seen her in action, come to think of it, and I was mighty curious as to how skilled she was on the court.

"Aw, you don't have to call me that, Yuki-kun," she said in that affectionate way of hers. For a moment I wondered where that nickname had came from, but I remembered that Makoto was friendly towards everyone.

"I'm glad you two made the team. Just between you and me, I think this year we can make it to Nationals."

"You really think that, senpai?" I asked.

"Well, why not? We might not have a track record like the boy's team, but we're pretty good." Her grin was easy and infectious; I felt myself smiling along with her. "See you guys tomorrow."

**-x-**

"You're resigning?" An asked, mouth open, hand over mouth. It would have been comical had it not been for my very serious announcement.

"Yeah," I said. "It's been great working with you, An, but I think I'll be moving on to bigger things."

I hadn't told her about my match with Kyoko. As much as I wanted to talk to her about this, a part of me pulled back. I didn't completely trust her the way I used to trust my friends, and what happened between Kyoko and I was almost a private business. It wouldn't have mattered to An how well I did against Kyoko.

I put too much of myself into that match. Tennis wasn't a game where you discussed the strategies you used against such-and-such moves in a casual matter.

An wasn't a person to say, "Well done." She would say, "And then what happened?"

And at that moment, I wanted someone to tell me what a good job I did. Since I was too proud of myself to go around asking people to do that for me, I complimented myself.

(...On that note, I think I'm becoming too much like Sanada-senpai. He doesn't show off or boast outwardly like Marui, but he's got as much arrogance as the captain of Hyotei's team. It's not so much the words that define him but that his actions, which are almost as infuriating as his words.)

Seichii-nii reacted to this piece of news in contemplative silence. That evening, when he was vacuuming the house and I was washing the dishes after dinner, I saw the signs; sneaky glances when he thought I wasn't looking, eyebrows furrowed once I caught him staring.

He was trying to figure _me_ out, I realized after leaving the dishes in the dish rack to dry. Like I was changing and he wasn't.

Well, maybe I was, I reasoned. A month ago, I wouldn't have even considered joining the girls' team.

I felt like he was dissecting me, pulling me apart with his careful observations like a fascinating specimen under a microscope. It bothered me more than it should have.

"Seichii, if you have something to say, just say it," I said flatly when I was sitting at my desk doing my homework. I didn't even need to face him - his presence was sometimes omnipotent. Child of God, indeed, I thought to myself dryly.

"I don't have anything but questions," he said in that musical, tinkling voice of his. He was still leaning against my doorway.

"Well, come in," I said finally. He did and sat on my bed, and I closed the door after him.

"Why did you resign from managing the team?" he asked, eyes closed as if he didn't want to see my reactions.

It was a simple question which in turn generated complicated answers. I wondered if he would ever understand my feelings. So I started with the simplest answer.

"A coach thought I was good enough to be a regular on the girls' team. So I joined."

He didn't say anything to that, rolling on his side as if he didn't want to hear anything else. "And?"

"That's all there is to it, Onii-san."

Seichii was quiet for a bit. Then - "You know I love you very much, right?"

I scowled. I hated it when he played the "kill them with kindness" card.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he chuckled. "It doesn't make it any less true, Shizuko. I've known you for way too long that there's a lot more to the story than what you're saying."

Sometimes, I really hated that I was born into a house where my brother happened to be the most perceptive person to exist on the Earth. Before his hospitalization, he wasn't so careful to say everything he wanted to say. The possibility of him dying had opened his eyes to a different level, and I had gone from annoying little sister into someone to be cherished.

"You've changed," he said.

"Well, no shit Sherlock," I said grumpily, but he only laughed. Like most infallible people, he was almost impossible to piss off. Unlike Sanada. Sanada was a lot easier to antagonize. Wait, why was I thinking about him?

"I guess it must be the transition from middle school to high school," Seichii-nii decided affectionately, and he ruffled my hair. "You've made some friends, right?"

I rolled my eyes, and he walked out of my room.

"Good luck with the girls' team," he said, and as he closed the door he broke into a smile. "I'll be supporting you."

**-x-**

* * *

**A/N**: So, from now on it's mostly going to be OC-centric. BUT HOLD YOUR HORSES. Atobe Keigo makes an appearance next chapter! Heh heh.

**Character profile for Makato Kurumizawa**

**-** She holds a part-time job in order to pay school tuition.

**- **She used to be part of a gang called Ice Scorpions until she met Sarutobi, now the captain of the girl's team.

- She's a third year in Rikkaidai and has been playing tennis ever since her freshmen year.

- She considers herself bisexual.

- She's very friendly, but she also can be responsible if it's needed.

- She admires the tennis player Kikumaru Eiji, since she is aiming to serve her team as both a competent singles and doubles player.

- Her grades are not the best; she only studies what interests her.

- She has blonde hair, a habit from dying it so often when she used to be a Yankee.


	8. lions and tigers

**A/N: **Yay for Prince of Tennis! I've been listening to a lot of the character songs. Current favorite is Revolution, which is a duet with Yukimura and Niou. Can't forget No Surrender by Sanada-san. (I really like his deep voice!)

**Tanaka Kyoko's Character Profile**

- She's a first-year, just like Shizuko. She doesn't address most people by honorifics.

- She wants to play as a professional when she graduates out of high school, but it's a secret from her father.

- She coaches tennis for little kids on Sunday mornings.

- When not in uniform, she dresses in loose T-shirts and Capri shorts.

- Her favorite band is the Sex Pistols.

- Her favorite food is pasta.

- She sometimes wears a cap during tennis matches.

* * *

**a blooming flower**

ch. 8 - lions and tigers

"Are you making cookies?" An asked as we talked on the phone; I put her on speakerphone. Both of my hands were sticky from scooping sweet bean paste into sticky rice.

"No," I said.

"But you're making something, right?"

Well, yeah. I was trying to cook something to thank that blockhead - I mean, _Sanada_ for coaching me and subsequently made me a regular. Especially as a first year! Unless you were one of the Three Demons, a first year on the boy's tennis team was unheard of.

"I'm making..." I started slowly, unsure whether I wanted to follow this train of thought.

Unfortunately for me, Seichii-nii chose this moment to walk into the kitchen and said into the phone, "An, she's making _ohagi_ - it's for Genichirou."

"..."

"EHHHHH? _No way_! For Sanada-san?"

I glared at my brother at this. He only chuckled, like a true sadist and before I could go and strangle him, he walked out of the room as An was exclaiming, "I thought you were hiding something!"

"It's _only_ to repay him," I said, fuming silently. "He likes traditional foods. Big deal."

"No no no," An said, and I swore she was grinning on the other end. "Shizuko, you don't understand. Making ohagi is one step away from making _honmei chocolate_."

"So what?" I asked, and then slapped my face. It was the worst response at the worst possible moment.

"You're saying you wouldn't mind making honmei chocolate for him?" An slyly interjected.

"What - no! I mean _yes_, I would mind! GAH!" I burst out. (I'm sure at this point my cheeks were a brilliant shade of crimson. I wasn't very good at pretending when something bothered me.)

"Sorry," An said, although she didn't sound sorry at all on the other line.

"I don't like being beholden to anybody," I explained. "He really helped me out of a pinch, so this is my way of giving thanks. That's it."

"Uh-huh."

"He taught me the backhand shot," I stubbornly insisted. "It really helped me in one of the ranking matches."

"You ever considered that a guy like the Emperor wouldn't do that for anybody?"

"Well, the fact that my brother is the Child of God helps," I said dryly.

An chuckled. Then there was a voice on the other end that was deep and low, calling out her name.

"I'll talk with you later," she said. "My brother is visiting, and um, I have to go."

"Okay," I said, and hung up.

Seichii was sitting at the kitchen table, legs kicked up casually. "That brother of hers is one hell of a player. I remember at the U-17 camp he and Chitose-san teamed up to defeat a pair of high-schoolers."

I scowled. "Why do you eavesdrop on things that don't need to be listened to?"

"I like to keep up on things," Seichii-nii said pleasantly as if we were discussing the weather. "Plus, An is a lovely girl. I'm glad you're friends with her."

I stuck out my tongue. Now I had progressed to rolling the sweet rice mixture in soy flour, which would prevent the cakes from sticking together.

"Here, let me help you," my brother offered.

"No, Seichii, you can't cook," I said. For all purposes and intents, the Child of God was terrible in the kitchen. I couldn't even trust the poor guy to make a sandwich without getting one of his fingers cut or something.

"But it's only ohagi."

"You could help me clean up," I suggested innocently. Which was better than saying, "I'm doing this for _him_, not you."

He sighed. "Are you always this stubborn?"

"Yes."

**-x-**

Sanada and his family lived in the middle of nowhere. I swallowed again, and looked at the address Yanagi had so kindly provided.

From a distance, it was intimidating. I had never been here before, although Seichii had stayed overnight many times and often said it was a rather lovely, spacious house.

I held my breath, and pressed the intercom.

A pleasant low voice came out - "Hello? Who is this?"

"Um... It's Yukimura Shizuko-desu. I wanted to deliver a package to Sanada-senpai..."

"Oh, you mean my brother, huh? Yeah, I'll get him."

_Sanada had a brother?_ I wondered internally._ I didn't know that_.

It was nothing compared to seeing him come out wearing a traditional hakama. After the shock of seeing him in Japanese attire, I decided he looked more natural in them. He moved fluidly with a grace that would have been impossible to replicate had he been wearing his school uniform.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" he asked courteously. It was, of course, formal language but for some reason I didn't mind.

"Um... I made you ohagi." I held the wooden box out to him. "Thank you very much for helping me with the backhand!"

"Oh... you're welcome." He seemd a little perplexed, taking me in. "You didn't have to bike all the way here to do that for me."

"It wasn't any problem," I lied fluently. "It was my pleasure."

"How did you do in the tennis tryouts?"

"I'm a regular now." I would have thanked him again, but I had a distinct feeling that once was good enough.

He nodded. "Good. I expected no less."

"You're too arrogant for your own good," I said, but it wasn't out of meanness or spite; it was simply a fact. I'd thought maybe he would get irritated or something, but the weirdest thing happened.

Sanada smiled.

I don't wish to be thought of as silly, but I thought at that moment something in me had changed when he smiled at me. It was like I was being wrapped in a certain warmth, some sort of gentle embrace that I'd never felt before in my life. His smile was rarer than rain in the desert, which was why it was so precious to me.

I won't lie; I thought he was nothing short of beautiful when he smiled.

"You're the second person to say that to me," he said. Then, as if he had revealed too much, his smile vanished as quickly as it had came, and there was a certain feeling of regret in the air.

He turned away to go back into his house. "See you tomorrow at school."

"Sanada-senpai!" I said quickly - quickly, what was I going to say?

"Yes?" His amber eyes flashed into mine, and somehow it conveyed a strength I was scared to cross.

"... Nothing. Never mind," I said. "Sorry to waste your time."

I didn't leave at first; I still wanted to talk to him and ask questions, like, "What do you mean, the second person? Who _is_ the other person who told you what I said?"

But eventually, I consoled myself when I biked myself home, the truth would reveal itself like a thread unraveling from its spool.

And I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way.

**-x-**

The vice captain had a nickname: she was known around the area as the Scorpion. I thought it was a weird nickname; Kyoko disagreed flatly.

"I've seen her play before. She's amazing!"

"If you say so," I shrugged, and slipped into my new tennis uniform. It was surprisingly soft, made from a material that I knew would be sweat-absorbent.

The other girls in the locker room didn't change in front of us and I had no idea why. Kyoko changed in front of me without any qualms whatsoever, but then she was like that. She was like a boy in the way that she wasn't afraid to express herself. She was painfully honest, yet at the same time it was endearing. Maybe it was because we were first-years and unfamiliar to the tennis hierarchy in Rikkaidai, or maybe it was because we respected each other's abilities. Either way, we were becoming fast friends.

Kyoko harrumphed and unzipped her bag to reach for her racket. "Yukimura, have you ever entered local tournaments before?"

I thought about it. "No, I actually haven't... I didn't start playing seriously until this year."

"Really?" Now Kyoko looked thoughtful. "That's surprising."

I wanted to tell her about my brother - no doubt she would have empathized with me since her own father had been a professional once - but I figured that when she saw the members of the boy's team she would put two plus two together. There was no need to go into a philosophical discussion about my brother now.

"Well, Kurumizawa didn't start playing until her first year either. She's a natural talent though - she played Singles 3 during her first year at Nationals."

"That's impressive," I said. As I had no idea about Nationally ranked players except that they were really, really good, I kept my mouth shut.

"But the real monster is Sarutobi," Kyoko said, as we peered at the serious-looking captain of their team. "She was in charge of Hyotei's team when she was in middle school - and she went undefeated for her entire tennis career."

"So... why is she in Rikkaidai?" I asked.

"No idea."

Hanamura-sensei started the whole team with basic drills and a hundred strokes for our forehand. There weren't a lot of girls who stayed in the club after the regulars had been announced for the team, which annoyed me. If Sarutobi-buchou seemed to be as sensible as one would assume, there would be plenty of inter-ranking matches to come. If a person couldn't possibly commit to a team without hard work or dedication, then on what terms did they have to be entitled to a regular position?

We ran laps around the courts, and I noticed the boys were playing a few matches. To my surprise An was talking to Kirihara. But what were they talking about?

Kyoko saw the two of them and asked me, "Who's he?"

"That's Kirihara Akaya - the first year Ace of Rikkaidai," I explained as we jogged evenly, keeping a consistent pace. "He's one of my classmates."

"Huh. He's cute."

I nearly gagged at this. Kirihara, cute? More like an obnoxious, know-it-all _prick_ who happened to have an ego the size of a hot-air balloon.

Kyoko seemed to have noticed this, because she grinned and jogged a little faster. I puffed my cheeks and put a bit more energy into my running before Hanamura-sensei was in sight with a stopwatch.

"Two minutes and forty seconds," she said, pressing the STOP button after we had slowed down to a steady walk. Sarutobi and Makato were predictably finished before all of us and had proceeded to other warmups. "Good stamina, both of you."

Another girl crossed the line, but she was wheezing, unlike Kyoko.

We stared at her. Her hands were compressed on her knees as she fought to regain her breath. She didn't look much different from the other girls who were just beginning to reach the end of the ten laps, but obviously she must have had some skill as she wore the Rikkaidai jersey.

She had green wavy hair and a slim figure; she was shorter than both of us. But I knew she was older than us, because me and Kyoko were the only first-years who had made the team.

"I'm - (pant) - tired!" she exclaimed, and then straightened her back up. "Who (pant) are you (pant) guys?"

"I'm Tanaka Kyoko, and this is Yukimura Shizuko." Kyoko introduced. "Who are you?"

"Fujiwara Midori," she said, and wiped off the sweat from her forehead with a dirty towel. "Nice to meet you two."

"How fitting," Kyoko said. "Your hair's green."

"I liked the color. My mom didn't mind," Midori said with a chipper can-do-anything attitude. Then she turned to me. "You're not related to Yukimura Seichii, by any chance... ?"

"I'm his sister," I said. I kept it short and simple.

She nodded. "Interesting! I take it you're a singles player?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind playing doubles," I said, thinking of An. "I mean, I'm okay with doubles."

"That's good," Hanamura-sensei said approvingly behind us. "You and Tanaka will be playing a match against Fujiwara and Toudou today."

The green-haired girl scowled. "Seriously? Toudou can't serve for her friggin' life."

"All the more reason for you to keep up with Toudou-san," the coach said, pushing her glasses up. "You need to improve your stamina, and _she_ needs a supporter."

The three of us walked to a nearby court while Midori was grumbling things that we probably weren't supposed to hear, like, "She thinks she so much cooler than everybody else" or "This sucks, why do I have to pair up with her" or "She shouldn't even be on the team in the first place".

"What a spoilsport," Kyoko commented. "If they have a bad relationship it's going to wreck their game."

I wasn't so sure. Midori seemed like a relatively cheerful girl and a bit _too_ enthusiastic, perhaps. If Midori proved to be on unfavorable terms with her doubles partner, it could upset the balance and harmony of a promising team. My brother had proved that over and over again - during the time where he had been in the hospital that fateful year, it was the only time that his team had lost in the Nationals.

It never happened again, but his lack of presence proved that the loss of even one member could be fatal.

We stepped in the courts, and Hanamura was directing another girl who seemed to be taller than me, which was saying something. She was lanky and gorgeous, her limbs aesthetically perfect and thin. Her hair was a beautiful shade of silver that moved like liquid water, and her fingers that wrapped around her racket were long and elegant.

"What a Mary Sue." Kyoko mumbled to herself.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

The girl moved in stride to take her place; the clear contrast between her lankiness and Midori's short stockiness was remarkable. I mentioned this to Kyoko and she smiled condescendingly. "Perhaps Midori-senpai is jealous."

"Perhaps," I conceded. "However, I'll judge them by their skills, not looks."

I mean, hell, _my_ brother looked like a girl but once you played tennis with him you would scream in pain at the end. Okay, I exaggerated, but it wasn't any less true.

We met at the net and they decided that the freshmen pair (as we were dubbed accordingly) would go first. I didn't mind; Kyoko had a very powerful serve and even if she didn't choose to employ it right away it would still be quite hard to return her strong forehand.

It turned out that they hadn't expected her serve at all. Sweet.

Makato was on the referee's chair with a notebook and a pencil. "1-0," she called out. "Nice work, Freshmen Pair!"

Kyoko served again, and Midori lunged for it - she had seen the ball and fought for it. But she missed.

"2-0!"

The silver girl was frowning. "What are you doing, Fujiwara? Get up."

Midori growled something back, but I couldn't hear it. Apparently Toudou disliked Midori as much as Midori disliked Toudou.

I asked Kyoko, "Should I serve?"

She shook her head no. "Let them argue. I'd rather win than give them a handicap."

I rolled my eyes and she served. The ball was fast and strong as usual, and this time Toudou managed to deflect it over the net. I was faster at running, so I had gotten to the net quicker; Kyoko saw my movements and stayed back in the court to keep a careful watch on the ball.

I volleyed it back, and I was close enough to make out the expression on Toudou's face. She had yellow glowing eyes - almost catlike and feline. She smirked when our gazes met, and suddenly I had the faint recollection of Niou's face looming across from me.

How interesting. Not that her playing resembled Niou's in any way; her forehands were weak and footwork left much to be desired.

"Three shots and you're out," she predicted slyly.

I frowned. Either she was overly pretentious or psychic - I didn't know which was worse.

Kyoko lobbed the ball, Midori passed it back. I returned it but it inexplicably hit the net.

"2-1!"

"_Fu_~ I was right," Toudou said. She flipped her hair behind her back.

"Showoff," Midori muttered loudly enough for all of us to hear.

"You okay, Yukimura?" Kyoko asked.

"I'm fine," I said, though I was shaken by Toudou's prediction. How did she know I would screw up on that particular shot?

Kyoko served once more, and Midori returned it back with a strong backhand. This time Kyoko wasn't holding back; her forehand shots were strong and I was relieved to see even Toudou struggle to return the ball. It came back to us with a slower speed and larger bounce, and I returned the ball with equal gusto.

However, I didn't expect Midori to dash up and slice the ball.

"2-2!"

"Crud," Kyoko said. "They're better than I expected."

In this manner Kyoko and I teamed up together, fighting to the best of our abilities. We won a few games from them, but each time they seemed to be far ahead of us.

"I don't get it," I said in a low voice at match point, switching sides. "I thought clashing teammates weren't supposed to work this well together."

"Maybe this is exactly how they work," Kyoko said. "That, or they're both psychotic."

This was somehow funny to me, and I laughed. The other pair seemed taken aback. Kyoko allowed herself an uneasy smile, saying, "You're weird, man."

"Sorry."

I should have seen the icy glare coming from Toudou a million miles away. In an instant her hair swished behind her head and I kid you not, I saw a tunnel of darkness coming out from her body like a menacing aura.

"Toudou - stop it," a voice intoned, harsher or sharper than any that I ever remembered hearing. "You're not supposed to use _that_."

The captain of our team was stepping out on our court, and she seemed to be furious - her eyes had an glacial anger to them.

The silver haired girl glared back. "They called me psychotic, _buchou_."

"That's no reason for you to avenge them. They're going to be your teammates. I expect you to behave accordingly." Sarutobi's voice was low yet there was a level of maturity to it. My respect for her multiplied tenfold as I saw that she was serious. "If you don't, you'll be running twenty extra laps every time I say so."

"Then I quit," Toudou said defiantly, and threw her racket on the ground. "I don't _need_ you."

Dead silence followed, and the gorgeous, lanky girl exited the court in a melodramatic fashion.

Midori grumbled. "What a drama queen," she said, and picked up Toudou's racket. "She'll be back," she reassured Kyoko and I. "This sort of thing happens all the time. I have to pick up after her."

"Jesus, that sucks," Kyoko said. "Why do it for her if you hate her so much?"

"Because that's one of my responsibilities as my teammate," she said. At this I exchanged a pointed look with Kyoko. That seemed far beyond the call of duty.

Midori noticed this and said, "She's really talented, but she gives up too easily. She's paranoid about other people gossiping about her, which is why I would suggest not talking about her behind her back."

"But you don't _like_ her," Kyoko repeated. "Why do it for her?"

An unsure look came across the green-haired girl's eyes. "It's because tennis is an escape for her. If she didn't play she would probably kill herself... and that's not something acceptable to me, even if I hate her guts."

She walked away. When she made sure Midori was out of earshot Kyoko said, "She's a goddamn masochist."

I shrugged. "Not my problem."

"I would rather die than serve such a selfish person." Kyoko said as we got a drink of cool water from the fountain.

I considered it. "I don't know... Maybe there's a story we don't know about Toudou-senpai."

"Pfft. As if a person quits something that supposedly saves them from killing themselves." And with that final word in, Kyoko submerged her head underneath the faucet.

**-x-**

"Shizuko, are you going to be busy tomorrow?" Seichii asked once I arrived home.

"No... why?" Afternoon practice was intense, but shorter than I expected.

"Hyotei invited us to play team matches with us. It's a bit of a long stretch, but I'd like you to be there."

"Oh," was all I said. "Okay."

"Of course, An is going to be there too."

"Is she working too hard?"

"No; unlike you, she doesn't hesitate to _ask for help_." Emphasis on the last three words.

I coughed delicately and looked away. "So, how was your day, Seichii-nii?"

His face relaxed and said, "Good. The team is doing well. Yours?"

I told him the story of Toudou Hotaru, the beautiful fragile girl who had played against me. He nodded and sighed in all the right places, and when I finished, he said, "Seems like she's gone through a lot."

"Maybe. She seemed scary."

"Scary, huh?" My brother looked out of the window, eyes lost in thought. I thought it was best not to interrupt him.

**-x-**

"What kind of asshole brings his personal cheerleaders to a practice match?" Kyoko asked as she shared a bag of chips between me and An. We were sitting in the bleachers, legs crossed and anticipating a few good matches. (I had introduced An to Kyoko, and she was suitably impressed by my new teammate.)

"Apparently Atobe Keigo does," I said. We three rolled our eyes when he came out in the middle and snapped his fingers, a dramatic show of his charisma in front of the crowd.

I myself was looking forward to this match because it was Sanada versus Atobe. Seichii-nii had politely declined to play a match because he had no wish to deprive anybody of their senses in an unofficial match. Besides, as he pointed out, Sanada had been anticipating to this match ever since last year and it wouldn't be fair for Seichii to play Atobe since he would eventually play the Hyotei captain in the Kantou Tournament.

"So the stone emperor is waging war on the king of divas," An commented, giving me a sly look. "Who are _you_ cheering for?"

I had the feeling the conversation was heading in a rather bad direction. "Sanada, of course. I would be a traitor if I supported another team."

Kyoko had a different opinion. "They look equally strong."

"That they are," I acknowledged. "Their last match lasted two hours."

"Who won?"

"Sanada. But it was very close. Both of them were brilliant," I said, remembering the awesome moves unleashed that very day. Atobe had recently upgraded his newest version of Fugue of Destruction, specially designed to work against Sanada's inhuman speed. And of course, they both had the capability to unlock Muga no Kyouchi; a feat that was no mean accomplishment.

However, An thought differently of Atobe Keigo. "That punk tried to ask me out the first day I met him in Tokyo."

I was surprised. "Really?" I sometimes forgot An came from the bustling capital of Japan - she was flexible and blended in wherever she went.

"_Really_," she confirmed in a boring, ho-hum sort of voice. "Fortunately, I was with Momoshiro-kun at the time..."

Kyoko munched on another barbeque chip. "I know who Momoshiro Takeshi is. He's part of Seigaku's team, right?"

"Uh-huh."

The match started with Atobe's Tannhauser serve, which pleased Kyoko to no end. She, like Atobe, shared a taste for extremely powerful serves.

Sanada was used to this serve, however; he had been the first witness to Atobe's creation since his final year in middle school. Which was why I wasn't surprised to see Sanada return it with ease before the ball hit the ground. Atobe's moves were just as precise, his footwork impeccable and polished. There was not a single wasted movement.

It was five minutes before Atobe claimed the first point, and it was mostly a combination of skill and luck. The ball escaped between Sanada's legs, a testament to Atobe's sharp eyesight and skills.

"15-love!" Yanagi Renji served as the referee. He wasn't taking notes; Yagyuu was holding a videocamera. _Figures_.

The other side cheered, and in Hyotei's typical fashion Atobe crowed, "Be awed at my prowess!"

"Showoff," me and An said simultaneously. Kirihara had been standing nearby, which was weird because I didn't even remember him being anywhere close to us.

An saw him too, because the first thing that came out of her mouth was, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"What, I'm not allowed to go wherever I want?" he retorted.

"I thought you were with them," An gestured to the other side of the fence. "You know. 'Mura-buchou. Yanagi-senpai. Or _hell_, even Niou-senpai."

"Big surprise, I don't like sitting down in one place. Who's he?" he asked, gesturing to Kyoko.

"My name's Tanaka Kyoko," she said, not the least offended at all. "I'm Yukimura's teammate."

"Oh," he said. "I thought you were a dude. My bad."

"No problem. I get that a lot."

"But doesn't it bother you? I mean, 'Mura-buchou gets annoyed whenever someone calls him a girl." Kirihara looked at me for support. "Isn't that right, Shizuko?"

I nodded. Kyoko shrugged and said, "I don't mind. I've been more comfortable in masculine clothing."

The match was heating up again and I left the others to their conversation, preferring to immerse myself into the match. Sanada was unruffled by the cheers or the noise, something I admired deeply. He was so different and focused you got the feeling that he was almost regal. His cap obscured his eyes, but I knew if I were to come closer, I would see a fire kindled in those amber orbs.

I could see three things clearly on that court: passion, ego, and pride.

They were the three things both Atobe and Sanada possessed. It was why I could watch the two of them fight until the very end - these two, very talented, very competitive, very aggressive boys on the tennis court.

They were incomparable to my brother.

My brother never had to _try_ defeating anybody in the tennis world. Even Tezuka Kunimitsu, arguably one of the best high school tennis athlete in Japan stood little chance against the Child of God.

Which was why, even if Seichii-nii had passion for tennis, he didn't have to risk any of his pride. But Atobe and Sanada did, so they knew what it was like - to lose, to win, to have faith in their pride.

And so I watched them, bewitched in their dance, their rhythm, and their twisted version of a tango.

**-x-**

* * *

**A/N:** I'm really bad about finishing up tennis matches. This has been the second time Shizuko's match has been interrupted... LOL

Did you notice the Tango bit I put in there? I couldn't resist. I love and adore Tango. But rest assured this story is most definitely ShizukoSanada. ;D


	9. translucence

**A/N: **Am currently reading **fyerigurl**'s _To Catch A Falling Star_ in the hopes of making my OC-centric fic even better. I quite like some of her characters but I don't think I could ever possibly go into deep detail into tennis matches like she can. Also, the Seigaku team is one of my least favorite teams in the PoT universe too, so uh... YEAH RIKKAIDAI RAWKS MANNN.

I'm wondering if anyone thinks this story should change. I know that writing a girl's team and making up enjoyable matches is a very difficult challenge. It's not something anybody could do - and I think mine is specifically different simply because it's from a first-person point of view. This plus Tachibana An plus Sanada plus romance... I know it's pretty weird.

In short: TELL ME IF I'M DOING SOMETHING WRONG, 'KAY GUYS? I WOULD APPRECIATE CONCRIT SO MUCH. :'D

And finally, this chapter is dedicated to **Neon Genesis** for every beautiful review she sent me.

* * *

**a blooming flower**

Ch 9 - translucence

Hyotei had won two matches from Rikkaidai's team. We had won three. As for Atobe's match, Sanada had won.

Again.

Atobe wasn't upset, as I had expected to happen. He only said mildly, "I'll be playing you again, Sanada," and left with his team.

The most surprising thing, however, was not that Atobe had graciously accepted his loss quietly. It was Sarutobi-buchou.

She had been standing next to the tennis courts, near the exit.

"Good game, Keigo."

He looked at her, as if he was going to snap at her, "Don't call me by my first name." But then it so happened he seemed to recognize her and smirked. "Ahn, so you came here instead. I was wondering where you went for an entire year."

She smiled mysteriously as if there were secrets between them. "Things change."

He accepted this explanation with a nod. "Of course, I presume you've noticed that Hyotei is progressing splendidly for both teams."

"Yet Rikkaidai will be the winner," she said with a voice that challenged anybody to refute this. "Rikkaidai _always_ wins."

The King of Hyotei looked at her with an expression of sympathy. "Not always, Ayano. Not always."

And he left the courts in his limousine.

**-x-**

Realizing that the girls' tennis team held more secrets than a wishing well was strange. I had been managing the boy's team for so long that I felt that I knew them so well. Now that I was part of something else, it felt like I was struggling to stand on my own two feet.

Midori and Toudou came back to practice like nothing had happened a few days before, and to my consternation Sarutobi-buchou only said, "Twenty laps," to Toudou. That was it. I knew that if somebody else on my brother's team ever decided to quit in such a fashion, Seichii-nii wouldn't have let it go so easily. And I knew for a fact that Hyotei's team cut anybody, boy or girl, who lost in an official match.

Today, after warm up, I was to play another third-year regular. I had no idea who she was.

On the flip side, she had probably seen me play before whether it was my match against Kyoko or Midori/Toudou. Today was just not my lucky day today.

We both walked to the center of the court and I took one good look at her before my eyes betrayed anything funny.

From a distance, Minamoto Hotaru was the most normal person I'd seen on the team. Her brown hair was straight as a pin, and her dark brown eyes seemed friendly.

"Hi," she greeted me, and I noticed she was wearing a T-shirt that had an icon of Micheal Faraday, the famed physicist. "Ready to play a match?"

"Er, sure." I said for the lack of anything. I think my face spoke for itself anyway. I was as judgmental as any other person.

"Ah, don't worry about me. I heard you were really good. Which?"

"Smooth."

The racket landed on rough. I sighed.

The game was absolutely terrible. It was as if Hotaru anticipated all my moves and, like a stage performance, executed every counter to perfection. Her movements belied a precise efficiency to them, revealing hours and hours of practice. When I volleyed, she lobbed. When I attempted a smash, she quickly returned the ball to a distant corner.

I don't want to say that I give up easily, but at some point I did. She even had a special sequence where she had the ability to freeze one of my muscles so that I couldn't even return the ball.

It happened _four times_ before the game ended.

And the score? 6 - 1. The one game I did manage to steal from her was out of dumb luck.

The last thing I wanted to do was to shake her hand, but I manned up and did it. After all, my brother could shake Echizen's hand a few years ago during Nationals. Why shouldn't I?

"Good match," Hotaru said, and her voice was sweet. "It was fun. And I know how you play now."

She walked away, mumbling something about aerodynamic physics before Hanamura-sensei told her to practice her backhand shots.

Kyoko to my relief had done no better. Hanamura-sensei had her play against Makato-fukubuchou, and her head was submerged underneath the bathroom sink in the girl's restroom. I was beginning to realize that this was her weird way of dealing with tense situations.

"Good game?" I asked tentatively. I poked her shoulder.

"Hell no. She completely decimated me." Now she withdrew her head, shaking it experimentally like a wet dog. Her short hair was limp, dripping water on the ground.

"I guess that makes two of us."

Kyoko sighed, frustration still apparent. "At least I didn't lose to that Toudou chick. If there's one person I hate losing to it's a drama princess."

I frowned. Although I disapproved of her actions, it didn't mean I had a right to peg Toudou as an inferior player. "You haven't even talked to her."

"Don't need to. She doesn't respect her captain or teammates. Who needs a player like that?"

She rubbed her blond hair with a towel and tossed it into her bag. "See you later, Yukimura."

I nodded and put my things away in the locker. We were both sore losers, and I couldn't help chuckle over this similarity. Freshmen Pair indeed.

I headed out of the locker room, and there were stray pieces of paper littering the tennis grounds. I picked a sheet up and it turned out to be somebody's math homework. The wind scattered even more loose leaf paper everywhere.

"_Hey!_ Could you help me pick these up?"

I looked up, and the beautiful girl from the doubles match two days ago was running towards me. It was Toudou Hisako, the infamous drama queen of the tennis team. (Oh hey, it even rhymed! Joy.)

"Um, sure, I guess."

Then she realized who I was in an instant. "Oh. It's you."

I drew myself to full height. "My _name_ is Yukimura Shizuko."

She shrugged as if she couldn't care less, her face barely concealing her apparent disdain for me.

Kyoko was right in a way, I realized. She didn't respect her teammate (which was me as of right now), and for some reason she didn't respect the rest of the world either.

Toudou gestured to the papers in the dust. "Could you help me with this? I've got a big assignment due tomorrow."

I was about to say something snarky, like, "Well if it's so important maybe you should have bought a nicer bag" or something, but I remembered that I was supposed to be the better man in these kind of situations. Or girl. Whichever you preferred.

It took about two minutes to do the job anyway, and I handed them to her.

"Thanks. It's a bit dusty though."

_Well, duh, they were on the ground. Of course they were going to be dusty!_

She slid them in her book bag and then added, "Nice job, Yukimura's little sister."

Needless to say, I had to count to ten. At least when I came to five she was out of sight, and I aimed a kick at the nearest thing to me, which happened to be the trash can.

Then I noticed a photograph on the ground. It was very small, and it would have been easy to miss had the sun not flashed upon it.

It was a picture of two girls at the beach. The very photogenic Toudou was in a close embrace with another pretty girl. They were smiling, and Toudou's expression was one of peace, not anger. It was surprising how much more beautiful she was when she was smiling like a regular girl.

The other girl shared the same yellow eyes and feline-like features. But though they looked similar enough to pass off as twins, the other girl's hair was blacker than charcoal, a sharp contrast to Toudou's silvery hair.

I flipped it over, and there was messy handwriting on the back as if Toudou had written it in a hurry. _Ageha and Hisako. July 15th, Summer at Okinawa._

So _Ageha_ was the name of the raven-haired girl. What a pretty name. And she did seem to share the fragile beauty of butterflies - perhaps it was her brightly colored swimsuit with a pattern of orange monarchs on top of a sky blue background, or maybe it was her pose or her shy smile that was different from Hisako's.

I slipped the photo into my pocket. Who was Ageha, and what was her relation to Toudou Hisako?

**-x-**

My life was quickly becoming a routine. I got up in the morning for physical conditioning, showered, then I went to school, had lunch, and then in the afternoon there was tennis practice.

It wasn't drastically different than the life I had before joining the girl's tennis team. I still talked to most of the boy's team on a regular basis. The difference between then and now was I was free from the responsibility of taking care of eight boys.

An seemed to bloom on their attention, though, and I admitted there was a prick of jealousy in my heart when I looked at her chattering happily at the tennis team. Why hadn't any of them responded to me with their kind of enthusiasm towards An? Was she that much better? More compatible with the team?

I swallowed hard, and tried to shake those thoughts away. The Districts Tournament was a week away, and my stamina wasn't up to par with Kyoko's. She jogged every day before practice and her consistency was amazing.

Hanamura-sensei had taken a special interest in me for some reason - I figured it was because of my connection to Yukimura Seichii. She would berate me about certain things - like the fact that I relied too much on topspin or backspin, or my backhand ("use two hands, not one!"). Then she would assign me training regimen that would push me to my limits.

It was during at the end of these practices that I bumped into Makato-fukubuchou at the bike rack. She always played on the courts opposite my side, so it wasn't very often that we got to speak all that often.

She smiled, as if she had been waiting for me. "Hey, Yuki-kun. What's up?"

"Fukubuchou," I acknowledged.

"You don't look so good. Are you okay?" she asked me with pursed lips, taking in my sunburned face and my fresh callouses.

"I'm fine," I said curtly.

"Hmm. Are you wearing ankle weights?"

What, was she the Queen of Disconnected Sentences? _First you say hi, then you say I look like crap, and then you ask me if I'm wearing ankle weights._ Was she just that naturally weird, or was there a point to her interrogation?

"Yes I am." I wanted to leave school as soon as I possibly could. Still, she was being friendly so I stood there.

"You shouldn't push yourself, Yuki-kun," she warned. "It's not good for you."

"I'm not," I mumbled.

"Yeah you are, kid." She nudged my ankle, and I winced. "Don't you think I don't notice all the small things? You added an extra weight. Take it off."

I protested at first, but her eyes were stern.

So I took it off and started to put it in my tennis bag, but she had to go even further than that. "No, give me that."

When she received my weights she smiled again like nothing was wrong.

Apparently, she wanted to get to know me better, and this was an example of an opportunity for such things.

I myself was wary of her. There had been too many times where a girl would ambush me, offering to carry my books and then do something completely horrible, like trash them or throw them into a nearby river.

But she was vice-captain of the tennis team, right? And she didn't ask for my books. That was a good thing.

"I've been noticing your game's been getting more aggressive, Yukimura."

I held my breath. "... Is that a good thing?"

"Mm... Yeah, I would say so. I like the fire in your eyes." She paused for a moment. "You play like your brother. Strong and graceful."

(Suddenly I was reminded of what Sanada had said to me once regarding my relation to the Child of God. _"If I were you, I'd use it to my advantage, instead of trying to fight against it."_)

"Not strong enough to win," I said sadly, thinking of my match with Minamoto Hotaru. I had been suffocated under her freezing sequence.

Makato only laughed. "That's our Hotaru-chan... a genius at figuring people's plays and frequency. Even I have a hard time winning against her."

"Still. I have a long way to go."

"Yuki-kun, all of us have a long way to go. That's just how the world is. But I can see you being Rikkaidai's pillar of support in the future."

She flicked my forehead playfully, and turned to leave. "See you tomorrow, Yuki-kun."

**-x-**

The morning of the District preliminaries was bright and sunny. It was a good omen, and the fact that I was going to play Doubles 2 with Tanaka Kyoko was another good sign. As first-years, I was smart enough to know that I had a long way to go before participating in singles, especially on a team representing Rikkaidai.

The entire team had gotten there early, but since Rikkaidai was a seeded team, we weren't scheduled to play until late morning. My brother had wished me luck, and asked me if I wanted him to be there for me as his team would be playing in the afternoon.

"Um... I'm okay," I said. Besides, I didn't want to draw attention to the fact I was his sister. Toudou obviously would have something to say and him interacting with the girls' team was something that I preferred not to deal with.

Kyoko was pumped up for her match. "Ready to go, Yukimura?"

"Yep. You?"

Kyoko grinned. "Ready when you are."

Truth be told, I was a little nervous. I hadn't played an official match in a tournament. And now that Rikkaidai was depending on me to secure a win for our team, I was beginning to feel the anxiety building up. Usually, I would be the one encouraging others, making sure that things would run smoothly. But now, I was a major part of the game - which was unfamiliar and alien to me.

Minamoto Hotaru was mixing something in a tumbler, and she brought paper cups to pour drinks for the entire team. "Let's have a drink!" she said to the team. "For good luck."

"Ooh yes, _let's_," Midori said, her green hair tied up in a bun and eyes sparkling. "I love your juices, Hotaru-chan."

"They're not as good as Sadaharu's," she conceded. "But yeah, he was always better at that kind of thing anyways."

She poured the fizzy mixture into a cup, then held it high as if she was making a toast. "To Rikkaidai! To aerodynamic physics! To Nationals!" Enter a rather dorky fist pump to which Midori and Makato participated in wholeheartedly and without any shame whatsoever.

I took a sip of my cup. To my surprise, it was refreshing and lightly sweetened. It smelled like raspberries and I detected the addition of mint.

"This is really good, senpai," Kyoko said enthusiastically.

Hotaru had a lovely smile. "Why thank you. I analyzed all the ingredients for soothing upset stomachs, nervousness, stage fright, ect. It's quite good for the beginning of matches instead of drinking plain water."

"Heh. God knows Yukimura needs it," Kyoko said, poking me in the ribs. I glared at her.

"I'm not nervous!"

"You're pale as snow."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Ladies," Makato intervened shortly. "I know the stakes are high," (at this Toudou snorted) " - but I have faith in you two. So please. Cut the shit out and focus."

Our first match was with Yokosuka High School, and according to Midori, they were more of an arts and science school rather than focusing on sports. "They shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Still," Hotaru noted, "You can't deny the splendid alumni who've graduated from this school." She told us that Koizumi Jun'ichirō, former Prime Minister of Japan, had once walked their school grounds and we were suitably impressed.

So it was Freshmen Pair first, then the Fujiwara/Toudou pair after that. Minamoto Hotaru would be playing Singles 3, Makato Kurumizawa would play Singles 2, and finally, our captain would play the last match of the day should it boil down to that. But it would be highly unlikely. I judged that all of us were more than competent players.

Our captain was quiet as usual. She was the only one who didn't participate in the mindless banter, but I did notice her eyes often looked at us fondly and once or twice she even smiled.

So she's not a total ice queen, I thought, and for some reason was relieved.

(The thought of a female Sanada on my team was extremely funny, yet rather disturbing.)

**-x-**

Me and Kyoko had completely overwhelmed the first pair of girls from Yokosuka (or, as Kyoko said gleefully after they were beyond earshot, "Yokosuckas") so there wasn't much to do afterward except watch the other teams play. I did stay for Fujiwara and Toudou's match, however. The two were paired against a better and more formidable doubles team.

However, the two weren't getting along as usual. Midori - the green haired girl - obviously disapproved of Toudou and voiced her displeasure so that everybody could hear her words clearly.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to smack on gum? Especially during an official match? You are _so_ disrespectful."

Toudou cracked her gum obnoxiously, and grinned. "Sweetheart, this isn't the Prime Minister's office. Relax."

Makato sighed. "Those two are ridiculous."

"I think - well, it's more of a hypothesis really - it's part of their plan," Hotaru said. A notebook was open, and she was clicking on a ballpoint pen as if she was ready to take notes. A stopwatch was in her other hand, poised and ready to push the start button.

"Scribbling down data again?"

Hotaru blushed (and I was confused as to why). "It's - it's all for strategy! Seriously!" she flustered, and I had the feeling that there was some sort of inside joke I didn't get, and thus turned my eyes to the court.

The other pair from Yokosuka was preparing to serve. Our doubles team was taking their respective positions, and gradually I could see the beginnings of a strategy building up. Despite their differences, both Fujiwara and Toudou worked well together. Midori specialized in volley serves, and whenever she was near the net, Toudou kept an ironclad defense in the back.

"Hm... Toudou-chan isn't bad..." Kyoko said. "She's certainly much better than when she played against us half a week ago."

"Don't underestimate her, Tanaka-san," Hotaru said sharply. "Hisako was going easy against you two because she knew you were freshmen."

"Hai, hai," Kyoko said, and I could tell she didn't like being judged as a weak player just because of an age difference. "She seems to overreact to certain phrases, though."

"No kidding," I added, thinking of the incident involving Toudou's math papers.

Hanamura-sensei took this time to cut into our little discussion. "Overreaction or no, it is disrespectful to talk badly of a fellow teammate during their match. Please be quiet."

Kyoko said nothing to this, but I saw it was plain as day that she a lot more to say had she not been talking to our coach.

"Ah, look! Attacking Doubles," Hotaru pointed out, and now Midori and Hisako were both close to the net. "They must be close to finishing this game," Hotaru said, and she was right: a few seconds later, the referee called out - "Game set and match to Toudou-Fujiwara pair, six games to two!"

They walked over to the bleachers, and Hanamura-sensei handed both of them cool towels. "Good job, both of you." She then went off to the officials to formerly record both of the double's score.

"Midori," Sarutobi said. "Your backhand is weak. You shouldn't have allowed the other team to win another game."

"Sorry, buchou," the green-haired girl apologized. "I'll improve next time."

"Yeah, melon-head, I won't have your skills disintegrate on my behalf," Toudou added.

"What did you say, permed idiot?"

"I said that I won't have your skills disintegrate on my - "

"Hisako," Makato-fukubuchou cut into this quickly before it escalated into a rather nasty cat-fight. "Your hand is bleeding."

"Ah. So it is," the silver beauty said, looking at her right hand. "I'd better get that fixed. Yukimura's little sister - pass me the first-aid kit, will you?"

"My _name_ is Shizuko," I said rather loudly, and I pushed the box of cotton swabs towards her. She could fix her damn hand by herself.

Her eyes were amused, revealing contempt for my childish antics. I knew at this point I disliked her - senpai or no senpai, she was provoking me on purpose and I hadn't even done anything towards her. What was her problem?

Toudou's fingers were swift, swabbing rubbing alcohol onto the open cut with nary an expression of pain, and then she wrapped her palm with a roll of clean gauze. While she was doing this, she was examining me with her yellow, glowing eyes. They were sharp, almost penetrating, and I knew that if Niou had been a girl in his past life, he certainly would have been Toudou Hisako at one time or another. The similarities were just too coincidental - they both played doubles, revealing nothing to the observer, and they provoked so much with their careful words.

It was uncomfortable. Toudou did not even blink while she was looking at me up and down.

"_So_," she drawled out her words to make it as insulting as possible. "I'm curious. Why - and don't take this wrong - did you try out for the tennis team instead of continuing to manage the team?"

I crossed my arms. "If we're going to play twenty questions, I think I deserve some answers from you as well."

Her voice was honeyed, sickly sweet and dripping with sarcasm. "Okay, Yukimura. If that's what you really want." She snapped the lid on the first-aid-kit down, and it seemed to indicate a seriousness beyond a chat between two teammates.

"I tried out for the team because I wanted to find my own path," I said. "Happy? Now I should get to ask you a question - "

"I'm not finished. If you joined out of spite, or to prove your brother wrong - "

"I like tennis," I said quietly, not rising up to her poisonous words. "And I want to play for our team. That's all. If you want to twist my motivation into something malicious, you're not going to get away with it."

I took out the photograph with her and Ageha on the beach, smiling beautifully.

"Now, it's my turn. Who is Ageha-san?"

**-x-**

* * *

A/N: cliffhanger, because I said so. XD

That was a shitload of character development, and I'm SO SORRY if you got confused by any of them.

In short: Toudou Hisako is the silver haired girl who is super pretty and bitchy. Fujiwara Midori has green hair and is Toudou's doubles partner. Sarutobi is the captain. Makato Kurumizawa is the vice-captain. Minamoto Hotaru is the one who defeated Shizuko soundly in practice.

AND FINALLY... a character profile for Minamoto Hotaru!

- She's a third-year in Rikkaidai and has been playing tennis ever since she was a kid.

- She's in a relationship with Inui. She really enjoys his juices as well (and has a better tolerance for them than Fuji for some twisted reason).

- Her favorite subject is physics.

- In her spare time she likes bowling. And making smoothies. And cooking.

- She is the most normal person on the Rikkaidai team, although she has her own quirks.

- Whenever she goes grocery shopping, her first impulse is to read the ingredients on the back of the packaging.

- She is a little self-conscious of dating a guy a year younger than she is.

- She shares a similar technique to Ibu Shinji's Spot technique, where she has total control of topspins and slice shots.


	10. reconfigured

**A/N: **This chapter is for **SunneRaine** for leaving possibly the longest and most helpful review that I've ever received. Oh and she's the fiftieth reviewer! Isn't that coincidental? XD

Since last chapter had so many OCs in it, this chapter will be more canon character oriented. :P Hope y'all don't mind terribly.

So, I was looking up for some stuff in the canon for the Rikkaidai team. Apparently Yukimura Seichii loves Brahms (the conductor, not the ice cream shop) and is in the arts committee of his school! -swoon- Renji has a little sister as well! And Yukimura's type of girl? "Healthy." Now, let me ask you - WTF does that mean? XDDDD

* * *

**a blooming flower**

Ch 10 - reconfigured

"Now, it's my turn. Who is Ageha-san?"

The silence was almost tangible. There was a wide range of emotions flickering in her eyes. Surprise. Sadness. And most curious of all - resentment.

"Who told you?"

That whisper, that quiet, delicate voice seemed to hold unimaginable truths. In that moment, I saw a person who was afraid - afraid of being human.

Suddenly I wanted to tell Toudou Hisako that it was okay. I didn't mean to tip her off-course, didn't mean to see through things that weren't supposed to be seen through.

"I - I found a photograph - " My fingers dipped into my jersey to instinctively touch the glossy square. "You dropped it a few days ago."

She didn't ask for it.

"Ageha... used to be my doubles partner," Hisako said. She looked straight into my eyes as she said this, but I wasn't sure if she was telling the entire truth. Then she added, "She doesn't go to Rikkaidai anymore, unfortunately."

"Oh." And somehow, a switch had been turned on, and she was back to her old self; the persona that was rude and snobby - but it wasn't really Hisako, not really. I had figured that her provoking words, her beauty that seemed to serve as a mask - it was all a show. Just something to defend herself from the real world and to isolate herself from whoever she really was.

She gave me a sad, twisted little grin as if she knew that _I_ knew that she wasn't being completely honest with me.

"Well, kid, there you have it."

"Aren't you going to ask me another question?"

"Not today, kid," she said, and skipped down to the lower bleachers to talk with the older team members. "Maybe tomorrow."

**-x-**

My brother had insisted on meeting me after my team had won five straight matches. I had been disappointed: Yokosuka was no challenge for Rikkaidai, and therefore I wasn't able to see any spectacular techniques or skills coming from the older teammates who had been on the team for quite some time. We progressed to the Districts championship, although I did hope that there would be someone finally able to challenge our own individual talents. So in the meantime, I took Kyoko to meet my brother and had explained exactly who he was in the high school tennis circuit.

"Onii-san, this is Tanaka Kyoko. Kyoko, this is my brother, Yukimura Seichii."

"How do you do," my brother said warmly, flashing a beautiful smile which would have elicited a squeal from most girls at school.

Kyoko, however, was suitably abnormal and reacted to this in a very rational manner. "I'm good, and you?"

"I'm doing fine. I've heard that you're quite the tennis player yourself."

"Oh me? Speak for yourself, I can't believe I'm meeting the captain of Rikkaidai's tennis team! You've witnessed three National championships under your leadership."

"You give me too much credit, Tanaka-san," my brother said, although I detected a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I have a great team. Without them, I wouldn't be able to win Nationals."

Apparently my brother felt the same way. He wasn't flanked by Sanada or Yanagi this time, just meeting up with me. I brought Kyoko along just because she was curious who my brother was.

"So, Yukimura-senpai, are you playing Singles today?"

"Mm... Yeah, I am. I've always been more of a Singles player, although I've been curious to see how the yips would affect a doubles team."

Kyoko was confused. "The 'yips', you said?"

I coughed loudly at this. "Ne, Onii-san, who's playing right now?"

"Right now? Er - it's Genichirou at the moment - "

"We should go see them!" Kyoko said excitedly. Thank God she had a short attention span. "I've wanted to see Sanada-senpai play again."

Now Seichii-nii was the one who was confused. "You've seen Genichirou playing before?"

"Yep! The match with Sanada playing against Atobe-san."

"Oh, I remember. Yes. That was an exciting match, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was! I couldn't believe Atobe-san had such an amazing serve."

I sighed in relief. Hopefully Kyoko wouldn't question me later on why I had interrupted her question. The problem was that I didn't know how Kyoko would react to my brother's methods of stripping a person of their senses while playing a match with them. From what I had observed, she was a person who usually rooted for the underdog - a person who stood for integrity and fairness, especially when playing tennis.

I must have missed something, though, because Kyoko was pulling on my wrist and saying, "Shizuko, let's go see Sanada-senpai's match!"

"Huh? Oh... Okay."

Seichii winked at me. "Tell _Genichirou_ I'll be catching up to him soon. I have to take care of a few things, okay?"

I didn't like what he was implying, and was about to tell him so had Kyoko been pulling on my arm like a puppy with a chew toy.

When we had gotten to the court, it wasn't as if anybody from the team was paying attention either. Yagyuu was half studying, half glancing at Sanada as the match was going on. Akaya was nowhere to be found, presumably walking around the other courts in boredom. Jackal was reading something in Portuguese, his legs crossed.

An greeted both of us and gave me a hug. "Shizuko-chan! And... Tanaka-san, right?"

"Hi, Tachibana. Team doing okay?" Kyoko's hair as usual was wild and stuck in different directions, giving her the impression that she did everything without care.

"They're doing great!" An chirps with obvious enthusiasm. "They're benefiting from my Super Deluxe training menu!" Cue a thumbs up and wide grin because she's doing so well.

"No kidding," Marui groaned, and he came up to our little group. "I think I still have those bruises from a day ago," he complained good-naturedly.

"Marui-senpai! It's for your own good!" An protests. "Just because you need to overdose on sugar - "

"Don't lecture me on that," Marui sighs. "You think I haven't heard enough of it from everybody by now, and then a cute girl comes to tell me I'm gaining weight - what's a manly man to do, huh?"

I smiled. "How have you been doing?"

"Good. Not the same when you were managing us - but okay." He ruffled An's hair affectionately, and An let him, albeit with a small protest. "_Stop_ that, senpai!"

"Of course, 'Mura-buchou kind of misses you, but that's to be expected when you're busy with your own tennis. But at least we have An-chan."

At hearing his news, I was glad. I didn't see much of the regulars on the team except for Kirihara, and that was because he was in my class with An as well. Mostly I kept to myself and studied during lunch, but sometimes Kyoko would pop in and say, "Hey man, got any change? I forgot to bring my lunch today." Other than that, the team hadn't acknowledged much about my resignation, a fact that made me doubt what effect I had on the team in the first place. Certainly Marui had never ruffled my head like he was doing to An...

"She's zoning out again," Kyoko said, and poked me in the cheek. "Shizuko? Are you like, okay?"

Marui laughed. "Yeah, that's Shizuko for you. She's smart and pretty, but she can't help but zoning out when she's thinking about something - Kind of reminds me of 'Mura-buchou, actually."

Now Niou was walking up to us. "If you're here to see _fukubuchou's_ match, it's nothing new. Kid's getting crushed, actually."

I turned to see a beautiful forehand grazing on the opposite side of the court. The other team's player had an expression akin to sheer, bloody panic. If he wasn't on the opposite team I'd be feeling quite sorry for him.

We took our seats, and I kept quiet while the others kept chattering as usual. I had changed into street clothes, so I looked like an ordinary girl who had stopped to watch Rikkaidai's match. Sanada didn't disappoint, taking two straight games without a sweat.

"Want a drink?" An asked. I nodded and passed her a few coins. "Apple cider, please." She left her seats, heading to the nearest vending machines.

"I'll go with you, An," Marui said, and he stood up to accompany her as well. An didn't look altogether pleased, but she made no refusal as they two left the bleachers.

"She looks like she's doing well with the team," Kyoko said.

"Better than me," I shrugged. Yet it nagged at me - why her and not me?

**-x-**

A game later, An and Marui returned with drinks. I took the bottle of apple cider and unscrewed the cap, taking a small sip before setting it next to me.

Kirihara for some reason with them as well, and An was arguing about cockroaches.

"Hey, don't hate on cockroaches. I know that they're the scum of the Earth, but - "

"You wouldn't know scum if it hit you on the head," An retorted. "Cockroaches are disgusting. Especially when they're not _one-hundred-percent dead_."

"'Kay, it's not my fault I didn't completely squish it - "

"Well, you could've! You were too slow!"

The rest of the team completely disregarded this as if they were used to it on a regular basis. Yagyuu was still studying and Jackal was still reading. The two most normal people on the team were calmly avoiding this.

"Um... shouldn't somebody stop them?" I asked Marui. An seemed almost angry enough to punch Kirihara.

He blew a green-apple bubble. "Nope. Even Sanada hasn't tried for the last week. I think it kind of gives dimension to the team, you know? Like boy-meets-girl, hate each other at first sight, and then finally make out at a dance or something."

I looked at them again. Kirihara was arguing with vigorous hand motions and his voice was inflected to different pitches in response to An's heated words.

_I've never seen him so interested in anything before An came._ Why was that so?

Kyoko was looking at them as well, sipping on a juice-box, looking for all who cared very much like an overgrown elementary school kid.

"I didn't expect _him_ to be interested in Tachibana," she mumbled mostly to herself, and I remembered that she was the one who told me that Kirihara was "cute".

Then she crumpled up the juice box and threw it into the nearest trash can, making a perfect arc in the air. "Eh, whatever. I can deal," she said, and turned her back on the two of them to enjoy the match in front of her.

"Deal with what?" Marui asked, and Kyoko actually blushed. "Nothing. I said nothing."

He shrugged. "If you say so." Then he got up again to interact with other fans who had showed up in support of Rikkaidai's match. Everywhere they played, people always showed up for a Rikkaidai match.

I stood up and hopped over to the captain's bench, as Seichii wasn't sitting on it. As the argument between Kirihara and An wasn't exactly dissipating as I had hoped, nobody would be watching out for Sanada's condition, and the sun was bound to cause dehydration. The officials allowed a minute of rest at match point.

"Here's a cold towel," I said, and handed it to Sanada as he sat on the bench.

He took it without a single word of thanks, wiping the sweat from his forehead after removing his cap.

Without his usual cap, it was like the edges of his features had softened, and he looked less like a middle-aged man and more of an young emperor. His aristocratic nose was straight and his shoulders, while broad, filled out his shirt out in a very attractive way. His eyes, a beautiful shade of amber brown, seemed to hold a piercing quality to them, as if he had no weaknesses whatsoever. And -

"Is there something wrong you'd like to point out?" he asked me in the middle of my musings, and at this, I realized two things.

First, Sanada Genichirou was attractive. Like, ridiculously hotter than normal. Since when did that happen?

And second, he caught me staring at him.

Fuck my life.

"There was a just bee in your hair, Genichirou," my brother interrupted just in the nick of time with a smile that was suspiciously too happy to look real. He descended from the steps. "Shizuko was just thinking about telling you, but it flew off."

Okay. So not only was that a bald-faced lie, but my brother actually _witnessed_ the whole thing. My life couldn't just get any better, right?

Luckily, Sanada seemed to accept this and put his cap back on. He walked away, and Seichii-nii only had a smug expression on his face.

"Shut up," I mumbled.

"I didn't say anything."

"But you're thinking it."

"I am," Seichii said most pleasantly. "And I _do_ say, the denial from both sides are entertaining..."

**-x-**

Over the next few days I was trying my very hardest to concentrate on my tennis, schoolwork, and pretty much anything that didn't have to do with the boy's team.

It didn't work.

"Ne, Shizuko, about the roster for the District championships - what do you think?" Seichii asked over dinner. Our parents were at home for once, and we were sitting at the table with some takeout sushi.

"Ummmm," I said, stalling. _Don't think about Sanada, don't think about Sanada_ - too late. "I dunno. Why don't you ask An instead?"

"Oh, but she doesn't really _get_ them like you do. You've been taking care of my team longer than she has, like Genichirou - "

I nearly choked on a piece of tuna.

" - and Renji from the elementary days."

My mother took this time to say, "Oh, I haven't seen them in a while! You should invite them over some time."

What a lovely woman. How is it that mothers know the exact thing to mortify their daughters?

"Saa... maybe that would be a nice idea, instead of going to their houses so often. Shizuko-chan wouldn't mind, right?" my brother asked, now directing the question towards me.

I scowled. "I don't care either way."

My father was staring into a great void, like he always did. I had the feeling that his family were pets to him. He was a college professor who spent much of his time thinking, and if my mother (who worked as an office lady in an insurance company) forgot to call him and ask where he was, he would usually stay on campus either to write or explain arbitrary concepts to his students.

Of course, me and my brother didn't mind that much. We were mostly self-independent, and while my mother sometimes nagged me to be more like Seichii, it wasn't as if we depended on our parents to live our life for us. After dinner, my father read the news and my mother did the dishes. All in all, a typical Japanese family, for now.

I went up to my room and laid face down on my bed.

Sanada Genichirou had always been my brother's best friend. So why... _why_ did I happen to think he happened to be good looking? Was it because he happened to be an amazing tennis player?

No, if that was the case I'd be falling in love with Kirihara. Or Yanagi-senpai. Or pretty much anybody on the team, really.

He was sometimes impatient, too blunt, and if one thought about it for some time, he had the potential to be a total asshole. And let's not mention that he almost never talked, the bastard.

But he could be nice sometimes, too. Like, I guess if that elusive, rare smile of his said anything, it would be that he sometimes listened to what I was saying - and sometimes maybe, he actually agreed with me.

I rolled up on my side, hugging my pillow as I considered it, a finger absentmindedly curling a piece of my wavy blue hair. A few minutes later, I arrived at a simple conclusion.

It must have been the sun. Yep. No way I could ever like that blockhead...

**-x-**

"Hey, Kyoko, what do you think about me?"

We were changing in the locker room, and as usual me and Kyoko were the only ones who actually bothered to change in a place where anybody could see us. This, ironically, gave us quite a bit of privacy from the other tennis club members, who usually waited around the girl's bathroom to change in the cubicles.

"Huh?" Kyoko said in mid-zip. "What do you mean?"

I tried to explain in a way so Kyoko would understand. "Like, if you were a boy, what would you think about me?"

"Um... Well, you're good looking and good at tennis." She glanced at me even further. "Does that count?"

I frowned. "That doesn't tell me if a guy wants to date me or not."

Kyoko looked at me as if I had gone a little crazy. "Shizuko, I'm not a dude. Seriously. If you want to know, why don't you ask the guy yourself?"

I sighed. "It was just a question..."

"Say, who _is_ the guy anyway? Is he on the tennis team?"

I gave her a pointed stare. "It was a _hypothetical_ question."

Her gray eyes were boring drills into my own. "Uh-huh... Do you remember when I told you were a terrible liar? 'Cause I know when you're lying, Shizuko, and you are definitely lying right now."

Insert a very long and awkward silence here.

"... Okay, that was a little scary," I admitted. "You can stop interrogating me now."

Kyoko chuckled. "Yeah, I wanted to do the whole bad-cop routine. But seriously - Shizuko, you're cool and pretty and smart. If a guy doesn't see that for himself, that's his loss. Not yours."

She picked up her racket and pushed the door open. "Now are you coming out or do I have to drag you out of here?"

I grinned. Tanaka Kyoko was a girl to be reckoned with.

**-x-**

Tennis practice had run just a little later than usual, so my brother wasn't there to wait for me. I bid Kyoko goodbye, and was about to go out to my bike rack when someone was waiting for me.

It was, of course, Sanada. How thrilling. As if I hadn't been thinking about him for the past few days.

"Um... What are you doing here?" I asked him. For all the good it did me, I was pretty good at banishing my own social awkwardness.

"Your brother wanted to pick up something from the convenience store and asked me to pick you up," he said. A perfunctory glance told me that he was a little irritated about it.

"Well, you don't exactly have to if you don't want to," I offered. "I have a bike anyways."

"It's fine. I'll jog."

The sky was getting awfully dark. I supposed it was just as well to have a tall guy escort me home safe and soundly... And _wow_ did that sound wrong.

"Well... I think I'll walk instead," I decided.

I could ditch the bike for a day, couldn't I? That way Sanada wouldn't have to strain himself to keep up with me after practice.

"You don't have to - "

"Shut up, okay? I just said I'd walk with you."

And to his credit, he actually does shut up. For a second I thought he was going to actually slap my face, but he didn't, taking my silence as a cue to start walking towards my house.

It's a comfortable silence, although secretly, I do try to sneak glances at him.

To my surprise he's the first one to break the silence. "I tried your ohagi. It was good."

"Was it too sweet? I thought it was too sweet."

"No. It was perfect."

I don't know what to make of this. If there's only one thing rarer than Sanada's smile, it's a compliment from him.

I decided to change the subject. "Oh yeah - I forgot to ask you. Do you remember when I told you were, uh, arrogant?"

He dips his head slightly, and there's a tiny lift of his lips - almost imperceptible, but there. It was sort of cute, in a way.

"Who was the first person who told you that?"

"Atobe."

"Oh. That's rich, coming from a guy like him."

Now his smile widened just a little bit more. It was like a flower - you had to wait for the petals to unfold, but when it bloomed, it was really something remarkable to see.

"Atobe is one of those rare types of people who means everything that he says," Sanada said. "Unfortunately, that just means he naturally excels at everything, to the consternation of us mortals."

I couldn't help smiling. Seriously, when did he have a sense of humor?

"Speak for yourself, _senpai_," I said. "At least you beat him in a match of tennis."

"That was more a battle of wills rather than anything."

"You still won." I was surprised he didn't take his victory as another sign of his prowess on-court.

"The point really was to enjoy the game in the first place," he explained. "As long as both of us are fighting to the best of our ability and trying our best, it doesn't matter who wins or loses."

"But - " I start, and then I stopped to think about it.

It was certainly a very mature attitude towards what one would simply deem as a sport. But the point of playing tennis competitively was to win. Surely the Emperor of Rikkaidai would share that sentiment.

"I don't understand," I finally admit to him. "You don't care if you win or lose?"

He shrugged. "I used to, but I'm a little too old for that responsibility anymore."

Of course. He and Seichii and Yanagi have gone through so many National Championships that they could care less if they lost a few matches on the way.

Still... it bothered me. Atobe and Sanada had been so _passionate_ on the court that very day - how could Sanada dismiss his magnificent victory like that?

And what of his old motto - _there can only be one winner_? It was too confusing. Out of character for such a person who I thought was one of the main pillars of the Rikkaidai tennis team.

The conversation is over, and neither of us broach the silence anymore.

My house is coming up close, and I realize that I, for all my intentions, actually enjoyed having a semi-conversation with the Emperor of Rikkaidai.

Seichii was waiting for us, still in his tennis jersey. He tossed Sanada something small, to which there is a confused expression on his face.

"Your favorite grip tape," he says simply. "I picked it up for you."

And then - that small smile is there for a second, before it vanishes. "Thank you." He left the neighborhood quickly, and I realized that he had been slowing down his pace. For me.

"Shi, aren't you going to come in for dinner?" my brother asks.

"Yeah," I say, sparing Sanada one last glance before coming inside the house. "Let's go."

**-x-**

* * *

**A/N:** I thought this might be a better place to stop. AND WHUTTTTTT I MADE IT TO TEN CHAPTERS! (of course, after two years of working on this story, lol.)

Unfortunately I have to say this: **Don't expect another update until next summer.** If you've known the kind of habits I pick up, it is most definitely this: I usually have most of my inspirational bursts during the summer because of all the free time I have in the world. I write my best when I have no external distractions. And when school comes around, that is a _biiiiiig_ external distraction (senior year, wassup mannn!). Not even Christmas or Spring Break do I bother to update my fanfiction.

Hopefully there may be room for one more chapter, but after that - not very likely for me to update this during the cooler months. I'm sorry to all my faithful readers, and this is most definitely a story I've enjoyed writing. It has revitalized my interest in Prince of Tennis, which is really quite an awesome anime full of awesome characters.

So - July 2012 is probably the best time to start waiting for my next chapter. Thanks to all of y'all and of course - REVIEW! C:

~Tally, aka asobi seksu


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